Argument and Brief 

SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF 

LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN 
AND HOSTLERS 




Hearings of Federal Wage Commission, 
Washington, D. C, February, 1918. 



ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF 

LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN 
AND HOSTLERS 



By W. S. CARTER 

PRESIDENT 
BROTHERHOOD of LOCOMOTIVE 
* FIREMEN AND ENGINEMEN. 



HEARINGS OF FEDERAL WAGE COMMISSION, 
WASHINGTON, D. C, FEBRUARY, 1918. 



THE DOYLE & WALTZ PRINTING CO CLEVELAND 



71 Uui 



D. of D. 
FEB 20 1918 






TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



ARGUMENT AND BRIEF. 

Page 

Historical 1 

Wages of Locomotive Firemen and Hostlers compared with the wages paid 

in other industries 5 

Time and one-half for overtime 17 

How increased tonnage decreases train speed 30 

Complication of the double standard of pay 40 

Manual labor performed by Locomotive Firemen 46 

Increased work and productive efficiency of Locomotive Engineers and Fire- 
men 54 

Firemen's application for employment and physical examination .... 55 

The effect of the Eight Hour Law upon wages and hours 56 

Hazard of the occupation of a Locomotive Fireman . .57 

Hostlers should be skilled employees 60 

The increased cost of living 63 

Cost of food and room rent to Locomotive Firemen while absent from home in 

the performance of their duties 72 

Effect on Locomotive Firemen of decrease in railroad business 76 



APPENDICES. 



A — The increased cost of living " 77 

B— Trend of wages from 1911-1917 100 

C — Case for the shorter work day 114 

D — Excessive hours of service required of railway employees .... 129 

E — Average hours' work per day by hostlers on Western Railroads . . 151 

F — Increased tractive power of locomotives 158 

G — Age limits for employment of Engineers and Firemen 161 

H — Qualifications of Locomotive Firemen, as indicated in examination 

questions 163 

I — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen in 

military service of the United States and Canada 199 

J — Situation on railroads that employ negro firemen 206 

K— Total freight revenue 1911-1916 209 

L — Freight traffic handled 211 

M — Total compensation of railway employees 1911-1916 213 

N — Rates of pay of mechanics on railroad and other work . . . . 215 

O — Educational requirements of Locomotive Firemen 229 

P — Why Locomotive Firemen are not available at the present time . . 244 

Q — The cause of alarming conditions 247 

R — Statements of employees as to imperative need for higher pay . . 254 



ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

HISTORICAL 

Numerous complaints, from almost every section of the country, were 
received during the year 1917 from locomotive firemen and hostlers 
against existing wages and working conditions. These complaints 
usually included statements that at present wages, with increased cost 
of living, the past standard of living was being greatly depressed. 

As early as July, 1917, formal request for the institution of a con- 
tinental wage movement was received. These requests came from 
individual members, and increased in number until the demand for 
another wage movement became so pronounced that formal applica- 
tions were received by the President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
Firemen and Enginemen from General Grievance Committees. 

Particularly was this demand vigorously pressed by locomotive 
firemen and hostlers in the Eastern District, with the result that a special 
meeting of the Association of General Grievance Committees of the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen for the Eastern 
District was convened in the City of Cleveland, November 5-9, 1917. 
At this meeting resolutions were adopted and wage requests formu- 
lated, which were to be referred to the membership in the Eastern 
District for approval, as provided in the laws of the organization. Reso- 
lution was also adopted inviting the Western and Southern Districts to 
join in one movement instead of three distinct movements. 

Already many similar requests for the institution of a wage move- 
ment had been received from the Southern and Western Districts, 
with the result that the Association of General Grievance Committees 
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen for the 
Southern District met in the City of Washington on November 27-28 
and took similar action. 

The Association of General Grievance Committees for the Western 
District met in Kansas City on December 10-11, and also took similar 
action. 

At each of these three meetings resolutions were adopted by which re- 
presentation was delegated to a sub-committee of six, with instructions 
for each sub-committee to join with the others in a "Joint Committee" 
in preparing a wage proposition to be presented to the railroad companies. 

This Joint Committee consisting of eighteen members met in the City 
of Chicago, December 14-18, and after a review of the entire situation, it 
was decided to prepare a proposition so moderate in character that 
Railroads should willingly make the concessions, if there Avas any incli- 

1 



2 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

nation to extend relief from a condition that demanded immediate 
remedy. 

In carrying out this plan it was agreed that: 

(1) A minimum wage should In- established for all locomotive lire- 
men and hostlers that would make it possible to at least partially main- 
tain the past standard of living. 

To requesl a small percentage of increase for all locomotive lire- 
men and hostlers whose wages, with this increase, would amount to more 
than $3.50 per day. 

(3) To request time and one-half for overtime, in all service except 
passenger sei \ ice. 

It was the desire of the entire Joint Committee to help the low paid 
man as he, more than any others, was suffering from adverse conditions. 
In order to accomplish this purpose the Committee indicated a willing- 
ness to "trade" deserved increases in wages for a higher paid man in 
order to establish a minimum of $3.50 for the low paid man. 

The Joint Committee seemed determined to find some means of reduc- 
ing the long periods of service to which locomotive firemen and hostlers 
are subjected. There seemed to he no other means of accomplishing 
this purpose than to renew their demand for time and one-half for oxer- 
time. It was believed that in a majority of trips and days, overtime 
would be eliminated when once a penalty was placed upon the Railroads. 
A proposition to accomplish these purposes was prepared in the form 
of a resolution and submitted, as provided by the laws of the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen to a referendum vote of 
all members in railroad service. The proposition thus submitted on 
December 22, 1917, was as follows: 

WHEREAS, Locomotive Firemen and Hustlers are paid very low rates of 
wages, and it is only by excessive overtime or by excessive miles, that their earn- 
ings are in keeping with the earnings of employees in other industries, and they 
find it impossible, with their present rates of wages and physical ability, to main- 
tain their past standard of living, and 

WHEREAS, the labors of Locomotive Firemen in Freighl Service are almost 
beyond human endurance, and 

WHEREAS, many Locomotive Hostlers and Switch Engine firemen are paid 
wages far below the wages of unskilled labor in many other industries, and find 
their standard of living has been greatly depressed, and 

WHEREAS, several years have elapsed since Firemen in Passenger Service 
have received a material and general increase in wages; 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: that a demand now be made, as follows: 

(1) Ten per cent increase in the wages of Locomotive Firemen engaged in all 
classes of Passenger Service, and where this ten per cent increase does not result 
in a wage of Three Hollars per one hundred miles, or less, the minimum wage 
shall he Three Hollars per one hundred miles, or less: provided, that where the 



HISTORICAL 3 

wages of Firemen in Short Turnaround and other Passenger Service is not based 
upon the miles run, the minimum wage will be Three Dollars and Fifty Cents 
per day. 

(2) Ten per cent increase in the wages of Locomotive Firemen engaged in all 
classes of service, except Passenger and Switching Service, and where this ten 
per cent increase does not result in a wage of Three Dollars and Fifty Cents per 
day of one hundred miles, or less, the minimum wage shall be Three Dollars and 
Fifty Cents per day of one hundred miles, or less. 

(3) Ten per cent increase in the wages of Locomotive Firemen engaged in all 
classes of Switching Service, and where this ten per cent increase does not result 
in a wage of Three Dollars and Fifty Cents per day of eight hours, or less, the 
minimum wage shall be Three Dollars and Fifty Cents per day of eight hours, 
or less. 

(4) All rates and working conditions provided in existing schedules as modified 
herein for Firemen in Steam Service shall apply to Helpers in Electric Service. 

(5) Ten per cent increase, in the wages of Hostlers and where this ten per cent 
increase does not result in a wage of Three Dollars and Fifty Cents per day of 
eight hours, or less, the minimum' wage shall be Three Dollars and Fifty Cents 
per day of eight hours, or less ; an increase of ten per cent in the wages of 
Hostlers employed in handling locomotives between the engine-house and pas- 
senger station, or between engine-house and yards, or between different points in 
a yard or yards, or on main track, and where this ten per cent increase does not 
result in a wage of Three Dollars and' Seventy-five Cents per day of eight hours, 
or less, for Hostlers so employed the minimum rate of 'wages shall be Three 
Dollars and Seventy-five Cents per day of eight hours, or less. 

(6) Ten per cent increase in wages of Helpers for Hostlers employed in hand- 
ling locomotives between the engine-house and passenger station, between the 
engine-house and yards, between different points in a yard or yards or on main 
track, and where this ten per cent increase does not result in a wage of Three 
Dollars and Fifty Cents per day of eight hours, or less, the minimum rate of 
wages shall be Three Dollars and Fifty Cents per day of eight hours, or less. 

(7) A minimum of Thirty Cents per one hundred miles or less, shall be added 
for Local Freight Service to through freight rates. Where, on individual lines, 
a differential for Local Freight Service greater than Thirty Cents, or where 
differentials in other classes of service above regular rates are now in effect, such 
differentials shall be maintained. 

(8) Existing overtime rules and hours per day, as modified by the application 
of the Eight-hour Settlement and as applied by the Commission of Eight, shall 
remain unchanged, except as follows : 

(a) In all classes of service, except Passenger and Switching Service, miles in 
excess of one hundred will be paid for at the same rate per mile. On runs of 
one hundred miles, or less, overtime will begin at the expiration of eight hours. 
On runs of over one hundred miles, overtime will begin when the time on duty 
exceeds the miles run divided by twelve and one-half. All overtime will be paid 
for at time and one-half time rate. 

(b) In Switching Service, all over eight hours within any twenty-four hour 
period will be paid for at time and one-half time rate. 

(c) In Hostling Service, all over eight hours within any twenty-four hour period 
will be paid for at time and one-half time rate. 



4 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

(d) All overtime will be computed on the minute basis. 

(9) Rules and rates of the various schedules will remain in effect except as 
specifically modified herein. This not to be construed as restricting rights of 
committees on individual roads to readjust any conditions not affected by these 
changes. 

The Joint Committee resolved to again meet irfthe City of Cleveland 
and canvass the referendum vote on January 21st. The Joint Com- 
mittee so met and upon canvassing the referendum vote found it prac- 
tically unanimous in approving the actions of the Joint Committee and 
delegating authority to the Joint Committee to press the matter with 
the Railroads in the usual manner. 

The taking over of the Railroads for operation by the Government 
on December 28, 1917, changed conditions and necessarily changed 
methods of procedure. Learning that the Director General of Rail- 
roads would appoint a Federal Wage Commission to which all demands 
for increased wages by railroad employees would be referred, resolu- 
tions were adopted by the Joint Committee instructing the President 
of this organization to present to the Director General the propositions 
herein quoted, with the understanding that same would be referred to 
the Federal Wage Commission, when appointed. 

Locomotive firemen and hostlers assert that because of their par- 
ticipation in past arbitrations under Federal Laws their wages and 
working conditions are abnormally low, when compared with wages 
in other industries. ■ 

In the Arbitration of western firemen and hostlers in 1910, they re- 
ceived approximately a 10% increase in wages. In their next succeed- 
ing movement, wherein they joined with the locomotive engineers, an 
arbitration was held in Chicago in 1914-15, from which the increases 
in wages and improvement in working conditions were almost negligible, 
except approximately a 10% increase to firemen in switching service, and 
the payment for all time on duty previous to the departure of trains and 
after having been required to report on duty; while locomotive hostlers, 
who had asked for a ten-hour day and increase in wages, were awarded 
a twelve-hour day for which they were to be paid the sum of $3.00. 
Such hostlers as were required to have a knowledge of signals and train 
rules or who were required to operate locomotives on main lines, were 
paid a slightly advanced rate. On some roads, however, the existing 
rates of pay to these hostlers were in excess of the award. 

An investigation would show that a vast majority of the locomotive 
hostlers and firemen in the Western District were already paid higher 
rates than were awarded by the arbitration board and but for the "sav- 
ing clause" would have had their wages reduced to a great extent. 

In the Eastern District, locomotive firemen and hostlers received an 
approximate 10% increase in pay through the Arbitration held in 1913, 
since which time no general wage movement has been undertaken. 

The Eight-hour Movement of 1915-16 was a direct result of a demand 
on the part of all employees engaged in train and engine service for a 
shorter work-day. As was their custom, the Railroads refused either 
to grant the eight-hour day or a rate of time and one-half for overtime. 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 5 

The enactment of the Federal Eight-hour Law brought no relief to 
railroad employees, for the Railroads refused to obey that law and se- 
cured numerous injunctions against the Government, restraining it 
from enforcing the law. 

The Railway Brotherhoods have earned the reputation of being the 
most conservative of all labor organizations. Aside from occasional 
strikes on individual Railroads their years of wage bargaining have 
been limited to negotiations resulting in compromised agreements with 
the Railroads or else in arbitration awards. 

It became evident to practically all railway employees engaged in 
engine and train service, especially to locomotive firemen and hostlers, 
that the Railroads had capitalized their conservatism and the only 
means by which they might expect to improve their working conditions 
and advance their rates of wages in keeping with the conditions and wages 
in other industries was to actually leave the service of the Railroads. 

No one questions the fact that but for the enactment of the Federal 
Eight-hour Law a strike on every Railroad in the United States of men 
in train and engine service would have begun on September 4, 1916. 

The law became operative on January 1, 1917, and when it became 
known to the employees in train and engine service that the Railroads 
had refused to obey the law and were depending upon the courts to set 
aside the law, again it was made evident to what extent the Railroads 
had capitalized the conservatism of their employees. 

No one questions the fact that had not the Railroads agreed to observe 
that law, or at least put into effect its intent, that every man in train and 
engine service in the United States would have entered on strike in 
March, 1917. 

It is indeed fortunate that other means have now been found for secur- 
ing relief so long denied. We enter these proceedings with the knowl- 
edge that the Government through its accredited representatives will 
now extend the relief to locomotive firemen and hostlers that has been 
denied so long. 



WAGES OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS COM- 
PARED WITH WAGES PAID IN OTHER INDUSTRIES. 

In order that the comparison may be made by the Federal Wage Com- 
mission of the wages paid locomotive firemen and hostlers with those 
paid in other industries we present a Volume entitled "Wages and the 
War." For convenience of reference we designate this as Exhibit No. 1 
for the locomotive firemen and hostlers. 

We respectfully request that the Commission refer to recent arbitra- 
tions and existing schedules for information as to the exact rate of wages 
and the real working conditions of locomotive firemen and hostlers. 
We have not presented copies of these arbitration awards and decisions 
on same as "exhibits" because we understand that the Commission 
already has access to same. The fact that there are on file with the 



ARGUMEN 1 AND BR IKK 



Federal Board of Mediation and Conciliation, a vast number of sched- 
ules on individual roads, from which information not contained in arbi- 
tration awards can be secured, has led us not to burden the record by 
presenting all of these schedules as "exhibits." 

It will perhaps lighten the labors of the Commission if the salient 
points found in Exhibit No. 1 are briefly reviewed as follows: 

In the following table, with accompanying diagram, is shown the 
money compensation for eight hours' work in various occupations and 
industries, for the years 1911-12, 1914 and 1917. The figures, other 
than those for firemen, are taken from the wage statistics of governmental 
and other authoritative sources, as compiled, in convenient form, in 
"Wages and the War," by Hugh S. Hanna and W. Jett Lauck. 

In order that comparison might readily be made between the earn- 
ings of firemen and those of other occupations, all entries have been 
put on the basis of the amount earned in eight hours of work. Most of 
the occupations shown are on an actual eight-hour basis, but in a few 
instances, as in the iron and steel industry, the actual hours may be 
much longer. 

Examination of the table and chart shows that, with extremely few 
exceptions, the wage level of the large number of occupations given, 
representing many lines of industry, is very much higher than that of 
firemen and hostlers in railroad service. Unless the rates of pay of 
firemen and hostlers are raised to the level prevailing in other lines of 
industry for the same work, the firemen, in order to maintain a mini- 
mum standard of existence, will necessarily have to seek employment 
in other industries. Such a result would be highly unfortunate, as it 
would further cripple the railroads, which are already operating under 
many difficulties. 

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OK EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OK LABOR 
IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES, 1911-1917. 



Occupations. 



Patternmakers (Shipyards, San Francisco) 

Sheet metal workers (Shipyards, San Francisco) 

Bricklayer (average of 39 cities) 

Plasterers (building trades, average, 35 cities) . . 

Machinists (Shipyards, San Francisco) 

Blacksmiths (Shipyards, San Francisco) 

Riveters and caulkers (Shipyards, San Fran- 
cisco) 

Structural iron workers (building trades, aver- 
age, 32 cities) 

Plumbers and gasfitters (building trades, aver- 
age, 37 cities) 

Steamfitters (building trades, average, 33 cities) 

Cement workers, finishers (building trades, av- 
erage, 13 cities) 

First blacksmith, bituminous coal, (Hocking 
Valley District) 

Stonemasons (building trades, Mass.) 

Loftsmen (Shipyards, Delaware River) 

Inside wiremen (building trades, average, 35 
cities) 

Tracklayers, cagers, drivers, trip-riders, water 
haulers, machine haulers, timbermen, wire- 
men and motormen, bituminous coal (Hock- 
ing Valley District) 

Lathers (building trades, Mass.) 

Pipemen, bituminous coal (Hocking Valley Dis- 
trict 



S5.00 
4.00 
5.17 
5.14 
4.00 
4.00 

3.60 

4.58 

4.50 
4.66 



2.96 
4.56 



2.70 
3.94 



S5.00 
4.00 
5.46 
5.42 
4.00 
4.00 

3.60 

4.97 



3.12 
4.74 
3.12 



S7.15 
6.60 

•5.83 
=5.79 
5.77 



5.77 

5.62 



5.59 
5.56 



5.27 
'5.21 
5.16 



5.00 
'4.95 



Per cent increase 


Dec, 1917, over 


1911 


1914 


43 


43 


65 


65 


13 


7 


13 


7 


44 


44 


44 


44 


60 


60 


23 


13 


24 


13 


19 


14 


13 


12 


78 


69 


14 


10 




65 


30 


20 


8S 


76 


26 


18 


87 


77 



=October, 191 ', 



•May, 1917. 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 



Occupations. 


1911-12 


1914 


1917 


Per cent increase 
Dec, 1917 over 


1911 


1914 


Sheet metal workers (building trades average, 


$3 . 74 
3.44 

2.49 
3.83 
3.52 
3.54 
3.60 
3.76 
3.28 

4.18 

4.12 

3.01 
3.12 
2.99 
2.64 
3.23 


$4.14 
3.52 

2.62 
4.06 
3.52 
3.68 
3.76 
3.76 
3.44 

4.39 

4.33 
2.64 
3.69 
3.29 
3.28 
3.14 


$4.81 
4.80 

4.75 
■4.72 
4.72 
4.72 
4.72 
4.72 
4.72 

4.66 

4.59 
4.40 
4.09 
4.09 
4.04 
4.04 
4.00 
24.00 

4.00 
3.96 
2 3.94 
23.92 
23.91 

3.75 

3.75 
23.66 

3.64 

3.60 
3.60 
3.57 
3.55 
23.44 
3.30 

3.20 

3.05 
2 2.93 

2.85 
2.79 

2.70 
2.75 

2.65 

2.58 

2.40* 

2.32 


29 
40 

91 
23 
34 
33 
31 
26 
44 

11 
■•■ l y 

36 
29 

35 
52 
24 

'22' 
21 
25 



"33" 
146 



'"49" ' 
17 
26 
21 





27 



8 
10 

112 

18 
12 
80 


16 
36 

81 

16 
34 
28 
26 
26 
37 

6 

6 
67 

24 
23 
29 

"l9" 

67 
65 
16 
14 
16 




33 

133 


105 
49 
12 

35 




15 



— 173 




101 

15 

60 




Tracklayers' helpers, dumpers and trimmers, 

bituminous coal (Hocking Valley District). . 

Carpenters (building trades, average, 38 cities) . 

Shipsmiths (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Coppersmiths (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Machinists (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Patternmakers (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 


Linotype operators, day, newspapers (average of 


Compositors, day, newspapers (average of 38 


Machinists (Shipyards, Delaware River). 

Electrotypers, finishers (average, 25 cities) 

Boilermakers (southeastern railroad shops) 

Blacksmiths (southeastern railroad shops) 

Machinists (southeastern railroad shops) 

Longshoremen, day work (New York City) .... 


3.37 

2.40 
2.40 
3.41 
3.45 
3.38 

3.75 

3.75 
2.76 

1.56 

3.60 
1.76 
2.40 
3.16 
2.54 
2.96 

3.20 

3.05 

2.54 

2.85 
3.356 

2.70 

2.75 

1.32 

2.24 
2.40 
1.44 


Sheet metal workers (Shipyards, Delaware 
River) 






House painters (building trades, Mass.) 


3.22 
3.24 
3.13 

3.75 




Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, freight service, O-l — 170,000 lbs. and 


Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, freight service, 0-2 — 200,000 and less 




2.75 
1.48 

3.60 


Greasers and couplers, bituminous coal (Hock- 


Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, freight service, D-3 — 140,000 lbs. and 






2.40 
3.03 

2.73 
2.73 

3.20 

3.05 
2.31 

2.85 
3.35 e 

j": 5 ".. 

1.25 

2.18 
2.15 
1.28 


Hod carriers (plaster tending, average, 30 cities) 


Hod carriers (mason tending, average, 30 cities) 
Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, passenger service, O-l Class — 170,000 

lbs. and less than 200,000 lbs. on drivers) 

Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, passenger service, D-3 Class — 140,000 
lbs. and less than 170,000 lbs. on drivers) .... 


Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, passenger service, H-3 Class — 100,000 
lbs. and less than 140,000 lbs. on drivers) .... 


Firemen (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, switching service) 

Engines less than 140,000 lbs. on drivers.. . 

Engines 140,000 lbs. on drivers and over.. . 
Trapper boys, bituminous coal (Hocking Valley 


Motormen and conductors (street railways, av- 









1 August, 1917. 

2 July 1, 1917. 

3 Decrease. 

4 At main line terminals hostlers received $2.50. 

6 All classes of locomotives. "Wages of locomotive firemen in switching service on the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy Railroad for 1911 were fixed as follows: 'First class yards, 25 cents per hour; all other 
yards, 24 cents per hour.' The day's work was fixed at 10 hours." 

• $3.35 for 12 hours or less. 



ARGUMENT AND RKIK1- 



i OMPARISON OF EARNINGS l"<>R BIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 

AND INDUSTRIES. 1911-1917. 





Occupations. 


SI. 00 S2.00 S3.00 S4.00 S5.00 S6.00 S7.00 $7.50 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


Per cent 

increase 

over 

1911. 




Pattern Makers Ship- 1911 
yards. San Fran- 1914 
cisco). I'M 7 

Sheet Metal Workers, 1911 

(Shipyards. San 1914 
Francisco). 1917 

Bricklayers (Building 1911 
Trades, average I'M 4 
39 cities). 1917 

Plasterers (Building 1911 

Trades. 35 cities). 1914 

1917 

Machinists (Shipyards. 1911 

San Francisco). 1914 

1917 

Blacksmiths (Ship- 1911 
yards, San Fran- 1914 
cisco). I'M 7 

Riveters and Caulkers 1911 
(Shipyards, San 1914 
Francisco). 1917 

Structural Iron Work- 1911 
ers (Building Trades, 1914 
average 32 cities). 1917 

Plumbers and Gasfit- 1911 
ters(BuildingTrades, 1914 
average 37 cities). 1917 

Steamfitters (Building 1911 
Trades, average 1914 
33 cities). 1917 

Cement Workers, Fin- 
ishers (Building 1911 
Trades, average 18 1914 
cities). 1917 




43 

65 

6 
13 

44 

44 

60 

9 
23 

10 
24 

4 
19 

13 

5 
13 




^^ r 




- i s 








i nn 
























'tt 




t in 








1 t\n 




. __ 








An 




. __ 








^^ - : 




. -_ 








' . n - 
















. r 































'Data for May, 1917. 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 



COMPARISON OF EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 
AND INDUSTRIES, 1911-1917— Continued. 



increase 



$1.00 $2.00 $3.00 

I I ! 



$4.00 

I 



$5.00 

I 



$6.00 

I 



$7.00 $7,501 over 
I | i 1911. 



First Blacksmith (Bitu- 1911 
minous Coal, Hock- 1914 
ing Valley District). 1917 



Stonemasons (Building 1912 

Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



Loftsmen (Shipyards 1914 
Delaware River). 1917 



Inside Wiremen (Build- 1911 
ing Trades, average 1914 
35 cities). 1917 



Tracklayers, Cagers, 
Drivers, Tripriders, 
Water and Machine 1911 
Haulers, Timbermen, 1914 
Wiremen and Motor- 1917 
men, Bituminous 
Coal (Hocking Val- 
ley District). 



Lathers (Building 
Trades, Mass.) 



1912 
1914 
1917 



Pipemen, Bituminous 1911 
Coal (Hocking Valley 1914 
District). 1917 



Sheet Metal Workers 1911 
(Building Trades, 1914 
average 31 cities). 1917 



Shipfitters (Navy-yard, 1911 

Philadelphia). 1914 

1917 

Tracklayers', Helpers, 

Dumpers and Trim- 1911 
mers, Bituminous 1914 
Coal (Hocking Val- 1917 
ley District). 



Carpenters (Building 191 
Trades, average 38 101 

cities). 



1914 



1917 



$2.96 
■ 3.12 



2.70 
■ 2.84 



.20 
■ 4.95 



2.63 
■ 2.78 



3.44 
■ 3.52 



2.49 
■ 2.62 



3.83 
M 4.06 



4.72 ; 



'Increase are 1914. 



2 August, 1917. 



10 



ARG1 Ml. NT AM) ISRI1 F 



COMPARISON OF EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 

AND INDUSTRIES. I'M 1- I'M 7— Continued. 



Shipamiths (Navy 1911 

Yard, Philadelphia). ioi4 



Coppersmith-: 'Xavv 1011 

Vard, Philadlephia). 1014 

1017 



Machinists (Xavv 1011 

Yard. Philadelphia). iou 

1917 



Pattern Makers (Navy ion 

Yard. Philadelphia). 1914 



Pipefitters (Navy 1911 

Yard, Philadelphia). 1914 

1917 



Linotype Operators. 1911 
Day, Newspapers. 1014 
(average of 2 7 citiesl.1017 



Compositors, day, 1011 

Newspapers (average 1914 
38 cities). 1917 



Machinists (Shipyards 
Delaware River). 



Electrotypers (Fin- 
ishers) (average 25 
cities). 



Boilermakers (South- 
eastern Railroad 
Shops). 



Blacksmiths (South- 
eastern Railroad 
Shops). 



1914 
1017 



1911 
1014 
1917 



1911 
1914 
1917 



S1.00 S2.00 S2.00 S4.00 SS.00 S6.00 S7.00 S7.50 
I I I I I I ! I 



4.18 
■ 4.39 
mm 4.66 



4.12 
■ 4.33 
■H 4.50 



3.49 
■ 3.69 

■■■ 4.00 



3.01 
■ 3.29 



Percent 

increase 

over 

1911 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 



11 



COMPARISON OF EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 
AND INDUSTRIES, 1911-1917— Continued. 



Occupation. 



Machinists (South- 1911 

eastern Railroad 1914 

Shops). 1917 



Longshoremen, day 1911 

work (N. Y. City). 1917 

Granite Cutters (Build- 1912 

ing Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



Sheet Metal Workers 1914 
(Shipyards, Dela- 1917 

ware River) 



Electricians (Ship- 1914 

yards, Delaware 1917 

River) 

House Painters (Build- 1912 

ing Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



Decorators (Building 1912 

Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



Paper Hangers (Build- 1912 

ing Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 1911 
R. R., Frt. Sen, 1914 

Class O-l Engines) 1917 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 
R. R., Frt. Ser., 1914 

Class 0-2 Engines) 1917 

Coremakers (Metal 1912 

Trades, Mass.) 1914 

1917 



$1.00 $2.03 $3.03 $4.03 $5.03 $6.00 $7.00 $7.50 
I I 1 I I I I I 



$2.99 
m 3.14 



3.23 
• 3.37 



4.00 



3.22 
■ 3.41 

H 3.94 



3.24 
■ 3.45 
ra 3.92 



3.13 
■ 3.38 

■BOB 3.91 



Per cent 

increase 

over 

1911. 



$3.75 for 10 hours or less. 



$3.75 for 8 hours or less. 



ARG1 Ml \ I AND BRIEF 



< OMPARISON OF EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 
AND INDUSTRIES, 1911-1917— Continued. 



Occupations 



nd I oupler, 1911 

Bituminous Coal, 1914 

Valley) 1917 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 
K. R.. Frt. Ser., 
Class D-3 Engines) 



Blacksmiths (Ship- 
yards. Delaware 
River) 



Labor (Shipyards 
San Francisco) 



1911 
1914 
1917 



1914 
1917 



1911 
1914 
1917 



Hod Carriers (Plaster 1912 
Tending, average. 1914 

30 cities) 1917 



Buffers (Metal 
Trades. Mass.) 



1<H2 
1914 

1017 



Hod Carriers (Mason 1912 
Tending, average 1914 

30 cities) 1917 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 
R. R., Pass. Ser., 
O-l Class Engines) 



Firemen (C. B. & C>. 
R. R., Pass. Ser., 
D-3 Class Engines) 



Bakers, Second 
Hands (Mass.) 



1911 
1914 
1917 



1911 
1914 
1917 



1912 
1914 
1917 



S1.00 S2.00 S3.00 $4.00 S5.00 



3.60 = 
3.60- 
3.60 3 



3.03 
i 3.16 

mm 3.5 = 



2.31 
■ 2.54 
«■ 2.93 



,.00 $7.00 $7.50 

I I I 



Per cent 

increase 

over 

1911 



5 
146 



—7 
26 



— Denotes decrease. 
' Over 1914. 

2 10 hours or less. 

3 8 hours or less. 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 



13 



COMPARISON OF EARNINGS FOR EIGHT HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS 
AND INDUSTRIES, 1911-1917. 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 1911 
R. R., Pass. Ser., 1914 

H-3 Class Engine) 1917 



Hostlers (Northern 
Pacific Ry.) 



1911 
1914 
1917 



Firemen (C. B. & Q. 
R. R. Switching 1911 

Service) Engines 1914 

less than 140,000 lbs. 1917 
on drivers 

Firemen (C. B. & Q. 
R. R. Switching 1911 

Service) Engines, 1914 

143,000 lbs. on drivers 1917 
and over 

Trapper Boys, 1911 

Bituminous Coal 1914 

(Hocking Valley 1917 
District) 



Motormen and Con- 1912 

ductors (Street Rail- 1914 

ways, average, 120 1917 
cities) 



Hostlers (Boston & 1911 

Albany) 1914 

1917 



Common Labor 
(Iron and Steel) 



1911 
1914 
1917 



$1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 

I I I I I 



5.00 $7.00 $7.50 
I I I 




2.50 1 

2 . 75 
2.75^ 



2.18 
2.24 
>■ 2.5S 



.15 1 
2.40' 
2.40 2 



Per cent 

increase 

over 

1911. 



— Denotes decrease. 

1 $3.35 for 12 h.mrs or Less. 

2 8 hours or less. 

3 At main line terminals hostlers received $2.50 in 1911. 



II 



ARGUMEN I AM) BRIEF 



INCREASES IN WAGES OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
HOSTLERS, 1911 TO 1917. 

Road Service: 

Arbitrations since 1 ( >1<>, while making but slight advances in wages, 
have tended to standardize rates of pay. On roads that already paid 
high rates there was but slight effect from the arbitrations, aside from 
an allowance for pay for time on duty previous to departure of train. 
On some of the smaller roads, where employees had never been able to 
secure desirable wages and working conditions, the arbitrations did 
bring great relief. 

The general tendency, however, has been the same, so far as wage 
increases are concerned, and the following is taken from the schedules 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad for locomotive firemen 
in both passenger and freight service: 

FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RATES, CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAILROAD. 



1911 Schedule. 


1915 Schedule. 


1917 Schedule. 


Engines less than 80,000 lbs. on drivers: 








$2 50 


$2 . 50 




Engines 80,000 lbs. and less than 100,000 lbs. on drivers: 








2 . 65 
3.15 


2 . 65 
3.15 


Freight", H-l class 3.15 


Engines 100,000 lbs. and less than 140,000 lbs. on drivers: 








2.85 
3.30 


2.85 
3.30 


Freight, US class 3.30 


Engines 140,000 lbs. and less than 170,000 lbs. on drivers: 








3 . 05 


3 . 05 
3.60 




Engines 170,000 lbs. and less than 200,000 lbs. on drivers: 






3.20 
3.75 


3.20 

3.75 


Freight. O-l class 3 . 75 


Engines 200,000 lbs. and less than 250,000 lbs. on drivers: 








3 20 

3 . 75 


3.20 


Freight, 0-2 class 


Engines 250,000 lbs. and less than 300,000 lbs. on drivers: 








3.45 

4 00 


3.45 


Freight, M-2A class 


Engines 300,000 lbs. and less than 350,000 lbs. on drivers: 








3 . 4.S 
4.00 


3.45 


Freight, M-l class 


Mallet engines: 








4.00 


4.00 


Mallet engines 275,000 lbs. and over on drivers: 


Freight 


4.25 


4.25 





It will be noted th.it the rate per day has not increased on many 
engines and but slight increases on some engine-. On the larger en- 



WAGES OF FIREMEN AND HOSTLERS 15 

gines no rate is given for 1911, as engines of this weight had not been 
introduced in the service at that time. 

The 1915 arbitration made no change in the rates except as indicated, 
but, as already stated, the award did fix the beginning of a day's work 
at the time called for duty instead of the time set for the train to leave. 

The application of the eight-hour day is not apparent in the rate and 
so long as locomotive firemen in freight service are on runs making a 
speed of 12}4 miles per hour, or greater, no overtime is made and there- 
fore no increased earnings result from the application of the eight-hour 
day. 

While rates are given for both passenger and freight service for all 
locomotives, the fact remains that but few of the lighter engines are 
used in freight service and practically none of the heaviest engines are 
used in passenger service. 

Switching Service : 

Arbitration awards have affected switching service in much the same 
manner as road service. Where the rates have been extremely low 
they have been brought up to the standard fixed by the award, and where 
rates were higher they were not affected. 

The following information is taken from the wage schedules for fire- 
men on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad: 

SWITCHING SERVICE RATES 

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 

1911 Schedule: 

First class yards, 25c per hour; all other yards, 24c per hour. 

1915 Schedule: Per day of 10 hours or less: 

Engines less than 140,000 lbs. on drivers $2.70 

Engines 140,000 and over on drivers 2 . 75 

M engines 3 . 00 

Mallet engines, 275,000 lbs. and less on drivers 4.00 

Mallet engines over 275,000 on drivers 4.00 

1917 Schedule: Per day of 8 hours or less: 

Engines less than 140,000 lbs. on drivers 2 . 70 

Engines 140,000 and over on drivers 2.75 

M engines 3 . 00 

Mallet engines, 275,000 lbs. and less on drivers 4.00 

Mallet engines over 275,000 lbs. on drivers 4.00 

It will be noted from the foregoing that switching rates are mentioned 
for the larger classes of engines, but these engines are seldom if ever 
used in switching service. A large majority of switching service on all 
Railroads is performed by engines coming within those classified as 
"engines less than 140,000 pounds on drivers" and "engines 140,000 
pounds and over on drivers." 

The rule secured in the West in 1915 and in the East in 1913 requires 
time to begin for which payment is made at the time the firemen are 
required to report for duty. 

The application of the eight-hour day did not increase the "rate per 
day" and where firemen in switching service were placed on the flat 
eight-hour day there was no increase in wage, but where they were re- 
quired to work overtime, the overtime begins two hours earlier than 
before the application of the Eight Hour Law. 



16 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

Hostling Service : 

A 12-hour day was the usual rule for hostlers on a majority of the Rail- 
roads until the Eastern Award of 1913 placed the day at 10 hours, the 
12-hour day remaining in the West until the application of the Eight- 
Hour Law. This same application reduced the time of the Eastern 
hostlers from 10 to 8 hours. With the application of the Eight-Hour 
Law, 10 hours' wages at the rate fixed became the % day's pay; thus the 
Eastern hostlers who were receiving S2.40 for 10 Hours work were paid 
$2.40 for 8 hours work. A great majority of the Western hostlers were 
receiving $3 per day for 12 hours work. Through the application of the 
Eight-Hour Law these hostlers had their labor reduced to 8 hours and 
their wages reduced to S2.50. Some roads paid higher rates, but few 
paid lower than herein indicated. As typical of the varying conditions, 
the following indicates the wages and increases of pay for locomotive 
hostlers: 

HOSTLER RATES. 

Northern Pacific Railway. 
1911 Schedule: 

Per day of 12 hours, $3.35, overtime 33J^C per hour. 

1916 Schedule: 

Per day of 12 hours, §3.35, overtime 33}'^c per hour. 

I'M 7 Schedule: 

Per day of 8 hours, $2.79, overtime 35c per hour. 

Boston & Albany Railroad. 

1910 Schedule- 
Hostlers shall receive 25c per hour at all main line terminals. 
At all other points, hostlers shall receive 21.5c per hour. 

1913 Schedule- 
Hostlers per day of 10 hours or less $2.40 

If hostlers arc employed in handling engines between passenger stations, 
and roundhouses or yards, or on main tracks, they will be paid, per day 

of 10 hours or less 3.25 

It men are employed to assist hostlers in handling engines between passen- 
ger stations and roundhouses or yards, or on main tracks, they shall be 
paid per day of 10 hours or less 2.50 

1917 Schedule: 

I [ostlers per day of 8 hours or less 2.40 

If hostlers are employed in handling engines between passenger stations 
and roundhouses or yards, or on main tracks, they will be paid, per day 

of 8 hours or less 3 . 25 

If men are employed to assist hostlers in handling engines between passen- 
ger stations and roundhouses or yards, or on main tracks, they will be 
paid per day of 8 hours or less 2 . 50 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 17 

TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME. 

In the eight-hour movement of railway employees engaged in train 
and engine service, which movement resulted in the enactment of the 
Federal Eight Hour Law, a demand for time and one-half for overtime was 
its most prominent feature. 

It was realized then, as now, that without a higher rate of pay for over- 
time, that few employers in any industry had ever conceded a fixsd 
period of service for a day's work. 

The demands of the employees were: 

1. A flat eight-hour day in Switching and Hostling service, where 
wages are based entirely upon the hours worked. 

2. An eight-hour principle applied to the mileage basis in all classes 
of road service, except passenger service. In the application of the eight- 
hour principle it was demanded that the one hundred mile basis of pay 
be performed in eight hours instead of ten hours; thus for a run of one 
hundred miles or less, there would be no overtime so long as the crew 
was not required to be on duty to exceed eight hours. For a run of one 
hundred fifty miles, no overtime would be paid unless the crew were 
on duty to exceed twelve hours. In fact, no overtime would be paid in 
any class of road service so long as the average speed of the train, from 
the time the crew was called for duty until finally relieved, was equal to 
or exceeded twelve and one-half miles per hour. 

3. In order to induce the Railroads to not require men in switching 
and hostling service to work more than eight hours out of any twenty- 
four hour period and in order to induce the Railroads to operate their 
trains at a speed equal to or greater than twelve and one-half miles per 
hour, a "penalty" rate of overtime was requested; that is, when men 
were required to work beyond these limitations, the rate paid per hour 
for such overtime was to be fifty per cent greater. 

It was believed then, and is believed now, that if Railroads were re- 
quired to pay a penalty for working their employees beyond reasonable 
hours it would be the exception rather than the rule that employees did 
not benefit by the application of an overtime rate, punitive in its char- 
acter. 

Without reviewing the entire history of the movement, attention is 
called to that period of the negotiations where we find the entire Joint 
Committee of the employees and a large gathering of railway presidents 
in the City of Washington, who thus assembled at the request of the 
President of the United States. After conferences held both with the 
committee representing the employees and the committee of presidents 
representing the Railroads, the President proposed to both sides of the 
controversy that the eight-hour day be placed in effect by the Railroads; 
that the employees temporarily withdraw their request for time and one- 
half for overtime; that the Railroads withdraw their request for their 
"yard-stick," and that he would recommend to Congress the appoint- 
ment of a committee to investigate the effects of the application of the 
eight-hour day, which committee would make its report, when the re- 
quests that had been withdrawn could be discussed more intelligently. 

The employees accepted the proposition of the President. The Rail- 
roads refused to accept the proposition of the President. It was then 



18 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

that the President went before Congress and recommended the enact- 
ment of the present Eight-Hour Law. 

In his address to Congress on August 29, 1916, the President justified 
his opinion that the eight-hour day was not an arbitrable question, and 
explained the impossibility of arbitrating a situation that did not exist, 
saying: 

"These proposals were exactly in line, it is interesting to note, with the position 
taken by the Supreme Court of the United States when appealed to to protect 
certain litigants from the financial losses which they confidently expected if they 
should submit to the regulation of their charges and of their methods of service 
by public legislation. The Court has held that it would not undertake to form a 
judgment upon forecasts, but could base its action only upon actual experience; 
that it must be supplied with facts, not with calculations and opinions, however 
scientifically attempted. To undertake to arbitrate the question of the adoption 
of an eight-hour day in the light of results merely estimated and predicted would 
be to undertake an enterprise of conjecture. ' No wise man could undertake it, 
or, if he did undertake it, could feel assured of his conclusions." 

Xo doubt when'the President thus expressed himself he believed that 
with the enactment of an eight-hour law the Railroads would acquiesce, 
and that by the time that the law became operative the eight-hour day 
would be placed in effect upon all Railroads, and thus it would be pos- 
sible for a commission, appointed under the proposed law, to investigate 
the actual effects of the application of the law. It was not believed 
then that a commission would be compelled to "form a judgment upon 
forecasts, but could base its action only upon actual experience; that it 
must be supplied with facts, not with calculations and op nions, however 
scientifically attempted." 

But the Railroads defeated the President's purpose. Just as they had 
defied the Railway Brotherhoods, so they defied Congress. Just as 
they had ignored the proposition of the President, so did they refuse to 
place in effect the Eight-hour Law. Many injunctions were brought 
against the Government and it was not until practically even- railway 
employee in train and engine service were ready to quit that service 
that the Railroads agreed that the law should be placed in effect. 

Because of the many questions arising out of the application of the 
law, it was mutually agreed that a "Commission of Eight" would be 
appointed, made up of four representatives of the employees and four 
representatives of the Railroads, to which Commission disputes arising 
out of the application of the law would be referred, and which Com- 
mission would have authority to adjudicate all controversies arising out 
of its application. Greatly to the credit of the Commission of Eight 
and the Railroads and Brotherhoods the very moment that peace was 
declared, each side exerted itself to be lair with the other, with the result 
that the application of the law has just been completed in a manner more 
or less satisfactory to all concerned. 

But what of the work of the Eight-Hour Commission provided for in 
the law? Did this Commission have opportunity to "base its action 
only up.m actual experience; that it must be supplied with facts, not with 
calculations and opinions, however scientifically attempted?" 

By no means! Because of the limitation of t'me prescribed in the 
law, and because of the determination of the Railroads not to apply 
the law, the Federal Eight-hour Commission have been compelled 
"to form a judgment upon forecasts" only. 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 19 

A reading of the report of the Eight-hour Commission, which has so 
recently been made public, will show that the first 268 pages of the re- 
port are based upon "an estimate" of what the Railroads believe the 
cost of the eight-hour day to have been, when applied to the ten-hour 
practice. 

In an earnest endeavor to assume the duties assigned it, the Eight- 
hour Commission, even before the law became effective (January 1, 
1917) prepared blank forms, or questionaires to be sent out to all Rail- 
roads in order that the Commission might have something on which to 
base an opinion. The report says: 

"Without the information returnable on these blanks, this Commission could 
not compile data showing the effect of the law either in increasing the cost of 
operation or in shortening hours of labor." (Page 10.) 

"The following table shows the increase in pay due to the eight-hour law as 
reported for the month of January, 1917, and the percentage relation to the com- 
pensation under the 1916 schedules of wages." (Page 13.) 

The conditions"^ operation in January, 1917, were almost identical 
with the January of the preceding year, and but for the seasonal varia- 
tions, were identical with the conditions, when the President had said 
that an arbitration of the eight-hour day based upon the experiences 
arising under the ten-hour day could not be conclusive. It was not 
until long after the information was supplied by the Railroads for the 
month of January, 1917, that the eight-hour law was placed in effect, 
therefore any information thus communicated by the Railroads to the 
Eight-hour Commission was necessarily "a judgment upon forecast." 

The amount reported by the Railroads to have been paid in back 
payments to employees because of the application of the eight-hour day 
is not here questioned. We will assume that the manner in which the 
Railroads did check the time-tickets for January, 1917, was correctly 
reported by the Railroads to the Commission; that the application of 
the Eight Hour Law was made as expensive as possible by the Railroads, 
in order to demonstrate: 

1. That time and one-half for overtime must not be paid, and 

2. That whatever the cost of the eight-hour day, it must be paid by 
the public rather than by the railway corporations. 

This was their position in the beginning. Speaking for the Railroads 
at the hearing before the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce, 
on August 31, 1916, Mr. R. S. Lovett said: 

"If this demand is accepted, then when the time arrives to deal with the ques- 
tion of time and a half overtime, which has been postponed and not withdrawn, 
if this demand is successful — if, under duress, they can force us to part with 
$60,000,000, why, that will be an attractive method for dealing with the question 
of time and a half overtime." 

It will thus be seen that even when opposing the enactment of the 
Eight-Hour Law, preparations were being made to oppose the granting 
of time and one-half for overtime. The same gentleman said, at the 
same time: 

"In time, however, I have not a particle of doubt — it may be in six weeks, or six 
months, or a year, or two years— but it is just as certain as the sun sets today 
that ultimately the public will have to pay the bill, because the public will realize 
that it must have these Railroad facilities, cost what they may, and it will have 
to meet increased rates." 



20 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

From this it is evident that regardless of the fact that the net operat- 
ing revenue of the Railroads has been greater during the three or four 
preceding years than at any time in the history of the Railroads; regard- 
less of the fact that the net operating revenue of the Railroads for the 
three years preceding July 1, 1914, had amounted to almost Three 
Thousand Millions of Dollars, the threat was made that if employees 
of railways were to be conceded similar privileges to those enjoyed in 
most other industries, the Railroads would refuse to pay the expense 
and force it upon the public. 

The report of the Eight-hour Commission contains, in addition to the 
conclusions based upon the Railroads' reports made directly to the 
Commission, three special reports, apocryphal in nature, but which 
deserve especial attention. 

The genesis and chronicles of railway wage schedule development is 
presented in a most interesting manner by Mr. Ripley. That this re- 
port is a valuable acquisition to the history of collective wage bargaining 
on Railroads will be recognized, even by a superficial glance through it, 
while a careful reading adds greatly to the pre-existing information upon 
the subject. The author gives credit to others, usually to those officially 
connected with the Railroads, for the information upon which this 
treatise is based. 

This was necessarily so, and does not detract from its value. There is 
a vast difference between the work of the historian and that of the 
prophet. While historians have always varied in their presentation of 
historical facts, and in conclusions based thereon, aside from a few 
erroneous conclusions, Mr. Ripley, from cur viewpoint, has presented 
the matter in a masterly manner. Unfortunately, he has wrongfully con- 
cluded that "the work of a switchman is relatively unskilled." He has 
reached the conclusion that on the "weaker" Railroads employees 
have been most successful in improving their wage conditions, when in 
fact, wage conditions on the weaker Railroads are much less desirable 
than on the larger systems. Apparently he has overlooked the Western 
Firemen and Hostlers' Arbitration of 1910 and the results therefrom. 
He has based his belief that compensation under the Eight-Hour Law 
to employees must necessarily show great increases upon information 
prepared by the Railroads in anticipation by the Railroads of an arbitra- 
tion of the eight-hour demands. But it is shown that notwithstanding 
that the cost to the Railroads has been increased by the application of 
the eight-hour day the daily wages of western hostlers were decreased 
from $3 per day of 12 hours to v $2.50 per day of 8 hours, thus showing an 
actual decrease in the wages of these employees. 

After the application of the eight-hour day, many of the Railroads 
found no d fnculty in placing a vast majority of the switching jobs upon 
the eight-hour day basis. These are conclusions that would be reached, 
perhaps, by any investigator who resorted to this source of information. 

When the information, upon which these conclusions are based, was 
prepared by the Railroads they were contending in the arbitration of 
the Switchmen's Union that an eight-hour day was not practicable, 
.ind this same information was prepared by the Railroads to prove this 
contention in an arbitration of the eight-hour movement of 1914-15. 



TIME AND ONE -HALF FOR OVERTIME 21 

The contribution to the Report of the Eight-hour Commission by Mr. 
Howard, aside from his personal comment, is almost entirely prophetic 
and the prophecies are based almost entirely upon the information 
prepared by .the Railroads previous to the enactment of the Eight-Hour 
Law, and expressly for the purpose of defeating the application of an 
eight-hour day and time and one-half for overtime, should the matter be 
referred to a board of arbitration. In fact, a larger portion of Mr. 
Howard's statement is a reproduction or revision of this data. Thus 
the Railroads have succeeded in having incorporated as a part of the re- 
port of the Eight-hour Commission matter that when prepared was 
intended for partisan evidence. 

Dur.ng his testimony before the Senate Committee, Mr. Elisha Lee, 
speaking for the Railroads, said: 

"We formed a committee subordinate to the national conference committee, or 
what we called the "Studies Committee." I think there are about twelve or fifteen 
men in the East and three or four from the West and three or four from the 
South — the three territories — to study the proposition and see in what manner the 
operation could be changed to meet this burden if it was imposed upon us. 
(Page 22.) 

In the consideration of this portion of the report of the Eight-hour 
Commission we sincerely hope that this Wage Commission will weigh 
carefully its origin. Notwithstanding the character of the informa- 
tion upon which his research has been based, Mr. Howard says that: 

"A reduction in tonnage of a slow freight train will generally make possible an 
increase in speed between stations if there is no increase in the amount of time 
lost at meeting and passing points or in delays from other causes. Theoretically, 
speed and tonnage are inversely proportional, assuming resistance per ton as 
constant. A force of one horsepower will move one ton twice as fast as it will 
move two tons. 

"This formula seems to have been generally used by railroad officials who made 
the studies which are considered in this report. It is generally understood to 
apply to the running time, that is, to the speed of train in motion. At least one 
road, however, the Great Northern, applies it to the total elapsed time, consider- 
ing that delays as well as running time will be reduced by an increase in speed. Express- 
ing it another way, the proportion between tonnage and time on duty will be constant. If 
you cut the tonnage of train 20 per cent, the time ondutyjvill be reduced±20 per cent. 

"Applying this to running time only, the saving in time will evidently be con- 
siderably less. For instance, if weight of train is 2,000 tons, running time 7 hours, 
and delays 5 hours, a 20 per cent reduction in tonnage, making 1,600 tons for the 
weight of train would result in a saving of 2 hours and 24 minutes in one case 
against 1 hour and 24 minutes in the other. 

"Such calculations have to do with through freights only, and especially to slow 
or dead freight. The same relation between speed and tonnage does not hold for 
local freight." (Page 421.) 

In no industry has it ever been contended that no expense will fall 
upon the employer by the reduction of hours of service. While it is a 
fact, readily accepted by many economists and some employers, that a 
reduction of the excessive hours of service will greatly increase the 
efficiency of the worker and therefore off-set to some extent the cost to 
the employer, the fact remains that a considerable burden of the expense 
does and must fall upon the employer, which cost is added to the price 
of the product. 

But the same thing may be said of every wage increase ever granted, 
and if because of the burden that did fall upon employers, the hours of 



22 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

labor had never been reduced, or the wages of working people had 
never been increased, human rights would have been ignored and only 
the profits to capital would have been considered. 

FLAT EIGHT-HOUR DAY AND EIGHT-HOUR SPEED BASIS 

It will not be our purpose to review the information prepared by the 
Railroads previous to the enactment of the Eight-Hour Law. Atten- 
tion is called, however, to what appears to have been the fact that in 
the preparation of this information the Railroads had in view the appli- 
cation of a flat eight-hour day to road service. There seems to be a 
dearth of information in this portion of the Report of the Eight-hour 
Commission as to what would have been the effect of the application 
of the eight-hour day principle to the speed of the train. 

At no time, either previous to the enactment of the Eight Hour 
Law or at the present] time, are we asking for a flat eight-hour day 
in road service. In the original proposition the following article was 
included: 

ARTICLE 1. (a) In all Road Service 100 miles or less, 8 hours or less will 
constitute a day, except in Passenger Service. Miles in excess of 100 will be 
paid for at the same rate per mile. 

(b) On runs of 100 miles or less overtime will begin at the expiration of 8 
hours. 

(c) On runs of over 100 miles, overtime will begin when the time on duty 
exceeds the miles run divided by \2 l / 2 miles per hour. 

(d) All overtime to be computed on the minute basis and paid for at time and 
one-half times the pro rata rate. 

(e) No one shall receive less for eight hours or 100 miles, than they now re- 
ceive for a minimum day or 100 miles for the class of engine used or for service 
performed. 

(f) Time will be computed continuously from time required for duty until re- 
leased from duty and responsibility at end of day or run. 

In the wage request prepared by the Joint Committee representing 
locomotive firemen and hostlers, which request [was prepared previous 
to the taking over of t the [Railroads by theJGovernment, the following 
paragraph refers to road service: 

(8) Existing overtime rules and hours per day, as modified by the application 
of the Eight-hour Settlement and as applied by the Commission of Eight, shall 
remain unchanged, except as follows : 

(a) In all classes of service, except Passenger and Switching Service, miles in 
excess of one hundred will be paid for at the same rate per mile. On runs of 
one hundred miles, or less, overtime will begin at the expiration of eight hours. 
On runs of over one hundred miles, overtime will begin when the time on duty 
exceeds the miles run divided by twelve and one-half. All overtime will be paid 
for at time and one-half time rate. 

So far as the work of locomotive hostlers and men in switching serv- 
ice is concerned there is no argument that the Railroads can fairly use 
against a flat eight-hour day in such service that has not always been used 
by every employer of labor in any industry who combatted the demands 
of working people for"a shorter work day. 

Let us quotejfrom the arbitration award of 1916 in the Switchmen's 
Union case: 

"Much emphasis has been laid upon the fact that the hours of work of the 
switchmen are often long. Although the standard work day on the Railroads has 
been ten hours, frequently the men have worked from eleven to twelve and some- 
times even some hours longer. 

"One of the reasons urged for the shorter work day is that men need more 
time to visit with their families, to take recreation, and to secure the other ad- 
vantages of leisure. This argument, of course, applies to switchmen. A second 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 23 

argument is that the long hours result in physical exhaustion, often to a degree 
seriously injurious to health. The evidence shows clearly that, owing to the 
nature of the work, there are frequent opportunities for intervals of rest, and 
that the long hours testified to are due very largely, almost invariably, indeed, to 
delays caused by the interference of other trains and to similar reasons beyond 
the control of the railway managers or of the switchmen. During these delays 
the switchmen must usually be idle, so that long hours do not always imply exces- 
sive physical labor. 

"Although it has seemed wise to award an eight-hour day as the standard 
minimum day, the overwhelming weight of testimony shows that the conditions 
of the various kinds of railway work are so different that only trial can determine 
just how far eight-hour shifts can be worked without prohibitory cost to the 
roads and undue disturbance of the work of their patrons. It seems 'to be clearly 
established that, under existing conditions, and probably even wider conditions of 
traffic less strenuous than the present, it will not be possible to make the actual 
xvorking eight-hour day effective in the case of mare than a small percentage of 
the switching crews, not more than ten per cent during 'the first year. While, there- 
fore, it is urged that the eight-hour day be established, its introduction must be 
gradual. The percentage, therefore, of the switching crews that will be directly 
affected during the period of this award must of necessity be small. Most crews 
will work ten hours or more." 

Please note carefully the conclusions of these neutral arbitrators 
that "it seems to be clearly established that, under existing conditions, 
and probably even under conditions of traffic less strenuous than the 
present, it will not be possible to make the actual working eight-hour 
day effective in the case of more than a small percentage of the switch- 
ing crews, not more than ten per cent during the first year." 

When it is known to every practical Railroad man that there is no 
class of service in any industry to which the eight-hour day, and time 
and one-half for overtime, may be more readily applied than to men 
engaged in switching service, how could a commission, whose integrity 
has never been questioned, reach such a conclusion? 

Why, the process is simple! The Railroads, at enormous expense of 
the time of their clerks and expert statisticians, prepared information to 
produce this very impression upon the minds of unprejudiced men who 
had little or no technical knowledge of the subject upon which they 
were rendering a verdict. 

Almost immediately after the eight-hour day was applied through 
Decision No. 1 of the Commission of Eight, many Railroads gave up 
the contest and placed most of their switching crews on a fiat eight-hour 
basis. Of course, the demand for time and one-half for overtime had 
been temporarily withdrawn and there was no longer a necessity for 
demonstrating that men in switching service could not be employed on 
a flat eight-hour day. A reading of the information gathered by Mr. 
Clark, in Appendix VII, shows that a personal investigation as to the 
actual practices of the Railroads, that the flat eight-hour day for switch- 
ing service was not only "possible" but preferable to both the men and 
the officials of some of the Railroads. 

It has been the ability of the Ra lroads to convince neutral arbitra- 
tors, by the presentation of great masses of statistical matter, that the 
request of employees should be denied, that has led railroad employes to 
absolutely refuse to submit wage demands to arbitration boards. At 
least, this was one of their principal reasons for declining to submit the 
original eight-hour demands to an arbitration board, as urged by the 
Railroads. 



24 ARGUMENT AND BRIKF 

We call attention to this conclusion reached by the arbitration board 
in the Switchmen's Union case as evidence that this Commission should 
consider with care any information prepared by the Railroads to prove 
that time and one-half should not be paid for overtime to railway em- 
ployees. A vast amount of the valuable time of this Commission could 
be profitably taken up by us in controverting much that is presented by 
Mr. Howard, in Appendix VIII, of the report of the Eight-hour Com- 
mission. We are sure that this Commission cannot afford to accord 
to us the time necessary to controvert what has been said by the Rail- 
roads, and presented in this portion of the report of the Eight-hour Com- 
mission, but we hope the Commission will pardon us for referring else- 
where in this argument to statements made in this report. 

TIME AND ONE-HALF IN YARD SERVICE. 

Yard service, as distinguished from road service, is operated upon the 
"hourly basis" instead of the "mileage basis." At no time are em- 
ployees in yard service paid conpensation except upon the "rate per day." 

Both under the 10-hour day and under the 8-hour day men in yard 
service are required to work overtime, this overtime under the 8-hour day 
beginning two hours earlier than under the 10-hour day, but in neither 
instance does the overtime rate exceed that of the "straight time." 

It is just as cheap to a railroad company to work one locomotive fire- 
man 16 hours on one shift as it is to work two locomotive firemen on 
two shifts of eight hours each. 

On such Railroads as have actually placed the 8-hour day into effect 
the men receive identically the same rate per day and earnings per month 
as they did under the 10-hour day, unless they are required to work over- 
time, when, the overtime rate being no greater than "straight time" 
rate, there is no economic reason that induces a railroad company to 
limit the hours of service except the well-known fact that the 
efficiency of a "tired" man is much less than a man in his prime con- 
dition. 

The same principle applies to hostling service. In the west a hostler 
was required to work twelve hours for $3.00, with overtime "pro rata." 
In the application of the 8-hour day he was required to work eight hours 
for $2.50, with overtime "pro rata." Neither before nor since the 
application of the 8-hour day does a hostler receive a higher rate of com- 
pensation for any overtime he works than for straight time. 

The only reason that men in yard and hostling service do not enjoy an 
eight-hour day is because they have not been able to secure a punitive 
rate of overtime. The only reason they have not been able to receive a 
punitive rate of overtime is that the Railroads have refused it and arbi- 
tration boards have declined to give it. 

Now that the Railroads are being operated by the Government, the 
policy of the Government should be applied. Especial provisions have 
been made by the Government for the payment of punitive rates of 
overtime, even though request has been made for employees in the muni- 
tion industries to work more than eight hours. Of course, as soon as 
the necessity of working ten hours is removed the application of the 
punitive rate will immediately result in the employer limiting the hours 
of service to eight. 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 25 

We earnestly submit that the Federal Wage Commission should ex- 
tend the same protection for the eight-hour day to men in yard and 
hostling service as has been found so necessary in practically all other 
industries — that of time and one-half for overtime. 

Concerning the method in which the Railroads have applied the eight- 
hour day to yard service, and the probable reasons for all Railroads not 
limiting the hours of employment to eight per day, the following quo- 
tations from Mr. Clark's contribution|to the_Report_of J:he Eight-hour 
Commission affords valuable information. 

Behind these physical conditions lies another very powerful influence — the in- 
telligence and good will of executive officers responsible for yard administration. 
Some yardmasters and higher officials seem to have been too hostile to an eight- 
hour day to apply themselves to a candid solution of the problems it presents, 
while other officers, who have attacked the subject with an open mind and a spirit 
of co-operation, have made the system a success. (Page 410.) 

The industry (yard work) and transfer runs already mentioned also are most 
conveniently treated as indivisible. Obviously if the officer who 'must readjust 
all these assignments on a new basis is incompetent, or is wedded to old routine 
and unwilling to adopt new ways, or if he is interfered with by a meddlesome 
superior, difficulties will multiply and the cost of running a yard on the 8-hour 
system will considerably exceed the increase in wages that accompanied the change. 

However, under normal conditions there is no inherent reason why the total 
cost of operating a yard employing several engines should be more with short 
shifts than with long shifts, providing the rates of pay per hour are equal. A 
little time is lost in making the transfer of crews — in badly arranged yards this 
may be an important item — but several superintendents and yardmasters report 
that crews "work with more pep" and accomplish more the hours they are on 
duty on short shifts than on long ones. There is no doubt but what this is true 
if we compare men working 8 hours with men working overtime after a regular 
10 or 12 hour shift. Two or three yardmasters and superintendents out of several 
score interviewed state that they needed more engines to handle their work on 
a three-shift than on a two-shift day, but this was an unusual experience, and 
able railway officials expressed doubt as to its truth under any circumstances. 
Moreover, this objection was more than counterbalanced by the testimony of yard- 
masters who said they were getting additional service out of their locomotives 
since the 8-hour day had been introduced. In fact, a case was reported where a 
Railroad anticipated and made provision for extra yard engines when its men 
went on a three-shift day, only to find that they were not necessary, and a Boston 
yard took off eight switch engines after the three-shift day was introduced. 
(Page- 410.) 

One great advantage that yardmen receive from the short-shift day is more 
regular hours of labor. When an engine is worked three shifts in 24 hours there 
is no opportunity for overtime, and in general the more crews there are on duty 
the less time each crew will work beyond its usual period. In a Pittsburgh yard 
where 73 crews were under the new system', only 10 minutes overtime had been 
reported within 4 days. In the Illinois Central yards at Chicago, a report for 
10-day periods in corresponding months in 1916 with long shifts, and in 1917 with 
short shifts, showed that although about 20 per cent more crews were working 
and well toward 50 per cent more cars were handled under the 8-hour day, the 
hours overtime had been reduced from 123 to 8. In the Rock Island yards at 
Kansas City the overtime for corresponding periods had been decreased from 
311 to 50 hours, although business had increased. Some important yards report 
absolutely no overtime since the three-shift day has been introduced. In a western 
yard, crews averaged from 2 to nearly 3 hours a day overtime before the change 
was made to the new system ; they now make no overtime. However, statistics do 
not show the human aspect of this change. Homes of yard employees were vis- 
ited where the wives said their husbands formerly never saw their children when 
they were not asleep, unless they took a lay-off; and that now their husbands ate 



26 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

both breakfast and supper with the entire family. Men spoke of formerly having 
to come home from the yard in their soiled working clothes, because they were 
too tired and had too little time to change at the washhouse. "Now, one of them 
remarked, "I keep banking hours and can dress well enough to walk with a 
banker on the street." Yardmen repeatedly expressed dread lest their present 
short hours might be gradually extended by assigning overtime work, or lest in 
response to growing traffic short shifts might be reintroduced. (Page 411.) 

Personal testimony, when not supported by specific facts and figures, is often 
worthless in forming an opinion of the law's operation. An amusing illustration 
of this occurred in a western city served by two great transcontinental railways, 
whose yard problems appear to an observer practically the same ; both handle the 
same kind of traffic and have the same physical conditions. In fact the yard 
offices were within a few minutes walk of each other. The general yardmaster 
first interviewed, himself an old switchman and former union man, damned the 
law up and down, said it disorganized the yard work, added to expenses, caused 
unnecessary delays in handling cars, was unpopular with the employees, and was 
generally a disastrous experiment — all of which was contradicted by his own 
general manager a few days later. The general yardmaster of the other system 
volunteered the initial statement that the 8-hour day was "the best thing that ever 
happened for the roads and the men so far as the yard work was concerned," 
and he followed this up with a general commentary and expansions that did not 
end until he accompanied the interviewer to his office door half an hour later with 
a parting blessing on the system. (Page 411.) 

This question of the attitude of employees toward the Eight-Hour Law evokes 
the greatest variety of opinion from men in railway service. Officials, from 
those highest in rank to those in immediate contact with yard and train workers 
and until recently of their number and members of their organizations, assert 
with apparent confidence and sincerity that employees do not want short hours, but 
want higher wages, and that an increase of pay was the real motive of the 8-hour 
agitation. Some will qualify this by saying that the Brotherhoods are working 
for eight hours as a step toward higher pay after the shorter day is actually in 
force. But they agree in the opinion that the sentiment of the workers is in favor 
of more money instead of less time on duty. 

On the other hand, not only the officers of railway unions, but the rank and 
file of the workers are practically unanimous in expressing themselves as primarily 
in favor of the short working day. This is true even of the occasional non-union 
men one meets, and of numerous members and officials of the Switchmen's Union 
of North America, which did not engage directly in the 8-hour movement, and is 
sometimes reported to be lukewarm toward it on account of rivalry with the 
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, which actively supported it. However, workers 
are discriminating in their testimony, and call attention to the fact that suppressed 
differences of opinion exist among themselves. They say that about 10 per cent 
of "time hogs" will be found on every road and in every branch of train opera- 
tion, meaning that there is a minority among themselves who prefer to work long 
hours in order to earn higher wages. 

It was attempted, in pursuing inquiries for this report, to ascertain what choice 
crews made when the option of taking long shifts or short shifts was given them. 
If employees regularly exercised their seniority rights to get long-hour shifts, it 
might seem to prove the contention that the men really want money in preference 
to shorter hours. But a study of yard assignments fails to show any clear rule 
in this matter. In yards where some shifts were made 8 hours, the' others re- 
mained 10 and 12 hours, crews seem, for the most part, to have retained their 
previous shifts, regardless of whether they were shortened or not. Jobs on 
engines serving the shops, which worked 10" hours, were sometimes preferred to 
jobs on regular yard engines working 8 hours, because shop engines were idle 
Sundays, while yard engines were busy 7 days a week. Firemen, who have heavy 
physical labor, may welcome short shifts more than engineers, who have less 
fatiguing duties. When there is a choice of long or short shifts in the same yard, 
senior employees may elect long assignments because they do not want their juniors 
to draw larger pay checks than they do, although thev would be content with 
lower pay for a short day if all were treated equallv. ' Where railway workers 
form a little community by themselves, family rivalries are said to play a part in 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 27 

these matters. The higher rates of pay established by the Eight-Hour Law had 
been in effect three months before any move was made toward readjusting hours 
of labor, and were in effect more than six months before short shifts were intro- 
duced in many yards. Meantime, workers had become accustomed to the higher 
income which working long hours at the new rate yielded, and what would have 
been a reduction of time without a reduction of pay if the law had been put fully 
into effect on January 1, became a reduction of time with a reduction of pay on 
July 1. In addition to the moral effect of this reduction, it came on top of the 
abnormal rise in the cost of living which the whole country is now experiencing. 

These circumstances lessen the significance of the cases where employees show 
a preference for long shifts. But such cases do not appear to be common, and 
they are balanced by instances where men on long shifts have used their seniority 
rights to "roll" junior employees who had short shifts. Not only has this hap- 
pened, but men have left old positions and changed to another company in order 
to get the 8-hour day. Speaking merely from observation — for there are no sta- 
tistics upon this point — apparently quite as many instances have occurred where 
men have gone to new assignments in order to get short hours as where they 
have chosen a long assignment in preference to a short one for the purpose of 
getting higher wages. 

The employees who choose long shifts are sometimes old men who have large 
families with children at the most expensive age ; sometimes they are young married 
men who are paying for a home and eager to get out of debt; sometimes they are 
roving young fellows in cities, who have no place to go after they get through 
work, and prefer to remain on duty long hours for four days a week and make 
as much money as possible during that period, and then lay off the other three 
days and spend it. 

Perhaps the most interesting expressions of the sentiment of a majority of em- 
ployees come from groups of men who have not received the 8-hour day, or who 
after having a short day for a time are deprived of it. Loyalty to one's organiza- 
tion is a powerful sentiment among workers and it reaches a maximum where 
rival organizations share the same field of employment. But a case was reported 
this summer where a lodge of a strong switchmen's union petitioned for a charter 
in a rival union, because under the conditions existing on that particular railroad 
the members thought a better chance existed of getting an 8-hour day applied to 
their yard through the latter's mediation. In another instance the workers in a 
yard agreed to waive their right to a meal period in the middle of the day rather 
than have long shifts restored. Cases are reported where lodges have polled 
unanimously for short hours, as an expression of sentiment which they hoped 
would influence officials in favor of a three-shift day. 

Several veteran yard engineers were interviewed by chance one evening as they 
were assembling for a lodge meeting. The 8-hour day was already in force in 
the terminal where they worked, and several irritating adjustments relating to 
points of relief, meal times, and other matters that always arise when a general 
shifting of working periods is made, were to be discussed. In other words, the 
men were assembling in an atmosphere of petty grievances, most of which had 
been created by the application of the new law. They were mostly old men, long 
in service, and wedded to ancient habits. This seemed an ideal opportunity to 
elicit unfriendly comments on the 8-hour day if hostile sentiment existed. But 
no such comments were made. One engineer said : 

"I'm willing to hurry up to get my work done in 8 hours, and I'm satisfied, though 
I used to earn $7.12 some of the longways I_use*to work, and now I am earning only 
$4.75 under this new arrangement." 

Another, who had evidently seen many years of railroading said : 

"If I had had shorter hoars all my life, I'd be a better man in health than I am 
today, and I believe I'd have been as well off in money." 

Indeed most railway men interviewed in both road and yard service looked at 
the short day question from other points of view than the monthlv pay aspect. 
(Page 412.) 

Before leaving the subject of yard conditions a word remains to be said of 
roundhouse and main-line hostlers. It will be recalled that a roundhouse hostler 
handles locomotives inside a restricted area near the roundhouse, and only upon 
the yard tracks. At a busy yard he may look after two or more engines simul- 



28 ARGUMENT AND BRII£F 

taneously— taking one from the sidetrack to a coal dock, and while it is being rilled 
stepping over to another engine on the cinder pit and running that to the round- 
house, and then running a third engine from the roundhouse to the water tank. 
He also may fill lubricators, though this is often the task of the road hostler, who 
runs locomotives out to the station, or to other points on the mam track where 
the road crew goes on duty. Besides regular hostlers, the roundhouse force in- 
cludes coal shovelers, pit cleaners, laborers, and emergency repair men. The 
classification of these employees is rather ambiguous, and some railroads put all 
except road hostlers under the jurisdiction of the mechanical department instead 
of the yard-master. Differences of opinion have consequently arisen as to which 
of these workers are affected by the Eight-Hour Law. Some roads have applied 
its provisions onlv to hostlers who are experienced locomotive firemen or engineers. 
Others have applied it to road hostlers, but not to roundhouse hostlers, who are 
classified as roundhouse or mechanics helpers. In large cities where a labor short- 
age exists and in the South most roundhouse hostlers are recently arrived immi- 
grants or negroes, who are unorganized. Of course, road hostlers are trained 
enginemen. Engineers frequently complain of poor hostling and attribute lubri- 
cator troubles and similar difficulties to the ignorance and carelessness of an in- 
competent roundhouse force. 

Before the Eight-Hour Law was applied, hostlers worked 11 or 12 hour shifts; 
but though they were on duty all this time, their labor was not generally continu- 
ous. When trains were arriving and leaving, -or yard crews were changing tricks, 
they were busy. At other times they were not so fully occupied. The new law 
has" shortened their hours of labor in most yards, but it has also lessened their 
wages. Where they formerly were paid for 11 hours or 12 hours, they now work 
8 hours for 10 hours pay at the former rate. For instance, in Portland, Oreg., 
hostlers formerly received $3 for 12 hours labor; they are now paid $2.50 for 8 
hours labor. At some points, as for example, certain yards in Milwaukee, the 
hostlers quit their positions rather than accept the reduced pay, stating that it was 
not a living wage. In the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul yards 38 out of 75 
employees are said to have left for this reason. Consequently the company re- 
established the 12-hour day at the rate of wages provided by the Eight-Hour Law. 
which amounted to an increase -of 25 per cent in daily pay. Some complaint arises 
from the attempt of companies who have put the 8-hour day into force to make 
the shifts discontinuous, so as to cover peaks of business and release hostlers dur- 
ing the time when no engines are at the roundhouse. At one place the shift was 
reported to be from noon to 4 p. m. and from 8 p. m. to midnight; and at another 
place men were said to be on duty from 6 to 9 a. m., from noon to 2 p. m., and 
from 4 to 7 p. m. (Page 413.) 

Under such varying influences the whole field of this inquiry was constantly 
changing contour during the past summer, and any survey of employment condi- 
tions made during the life of the Eight-Hour Commission will record details that 
are merely transitory. However, the broad, outstanding landmarks of railway 
employment are permanent and, being governed by the necessities of the service, 
are not radicallv affected bv legislation or by political and business crises. (Page 
381.) 

Turning to the second aspect of train operation — the kind of work involved — 
this also falls into two broad divisions, yard and road service. Terminal work is 
handled by two groups of employees, a roundhouse force and switching crews. 
When a train arrives at a division point, either the engine crew or a road hostler 
takes the locomotive to the roundhouse, where it is inspected, repaired if neces- 
sary, cleaned, and supplied with fuel, water, oil, and other necessities for the fol- 
lowing run. Upon receiving a train that is to be broken up and reclassified in 
the yard, the switching crew sorts the cars according to their contents and desti- 
nation on classification tracks. (Page 383.) 

Though main tracks run through yards and are used in yard work, they are 
distinguished from switching tracks. The influence of this distinction upon em- 
ployment is illustrated by "roundhouse" and "road" hostlers. Roundhouse hostlers 
are permitted to run an engine to the cinder pit, coal dock, ami water tank, off 
main-line tracks; road hostlers may in addition to this receive or deliver an engine 
at a station on the main track or over main track separating different yards in 
the same terminal. The latter grade of employment is higher than the former, 
because it involves a knowledge of main line signals and rules, and an added de- 
gree of responsibility. (Page 383.) 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 29 

Shortly after the entrance of the United States into the present 
War the suspension of the eight-hour day and other labor stand- 
ards was strongly urged in many quarters. The knowledge of the dis- 
astrous experience of England during the early months subsequent to 
her entrance into the war when she suspended her working standards 
because of the short-war fallacy, has become well known in this country 
however, and intelligent public opinion opposed the suspension of the 
eight-hour day and other standards. President Wilson in a letter of 
June 4, 1917, addressed to Governor Brumbaugh of Pennsylvania, stated 
that he considered such action unwise and unnecessary. The suspen- 
sion of eight-hour standards should only occur under the policy of the 
Government, in the face of a national emergency. This national emer- 
gency existed in the case of certain work for the Navy and War Depart- 
ments, and by executive orders of March 24, and April 28, 1917, the 
President had suspended the provisions of the Eight-Hour Act of June 
19, 1912, relative to government contracts so far as emergency work for 
the national defense was concerned. The Naval Appropriation Act of 
March 4, 1917, under the provisions of which the authority of the Presi- 
dent was derived, provided, however, that all time work in excess of 
eight hours should be paid for at the rate of time and a half. The gen- 
eral arrangement adopted by the Navy and War Departments has been 
to require a ten hour workday on emergency work, all time in excess 
of eight hours being paid for at one aud one-half times the regular rate. 

The letter of the President to Governor Brumbaugh, and the two 
executive orders relative to the suspension of the Eight-Hour Law on 
war work are reproduced below : 

The White House, June 4, 1917. 
My Dear Gov. Brumbaugh : 
I take pleasure in replying to your letter of June 1. 

I think it would be most unfortunate for any of the States to relax the laws 
by which safeguards have been thrown about labor. I feel that there is no neces- 
sity for such action, and that it would lead to a slackening of the energy of the 
Nation rather than to an increase of it, besides being very unfair to the laboring 
people themselves. 

Sincerely yours, 

. WOODROW WILSON. 

SUSPENSION OF FEDERAL EIGHT-HOUR LAWS 
Executive Order 

Under authority contained in the Naval Appropriation Act approved March 4, 
1917 (Public No. 391, 64th Congress), whereby it is provided — 

That in case of national emergency the President is authorized to suspend pro- 
visions of law prohibiting more than eight hours labor in any one day of persons 
engaged upon work covered by contracts with the United States : Provided further, 
That the wages of persons employed upon such contracts shall be computed on a basic 
day rate of eight hours work with overtime rates to be paid for at not less than time and 
one-half for all hours ivork in excess of eight hours: 



30 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

it is hereby ordered that the provisions of the act approved June 19, 1912, limiting 
the hours of daily service of mechanics and laborers on work under contracts to 
which the United States is a party are suspended with respect to all contracts 
for ordnance and ordnance stores and other military supplies and material, con- 
tracts for buildings under construction or to be constructed at the arsenals, and 
contracts for fortification work during the pending emergency and until further 
orders. This order shall take effect from and after this date. 

WOODROW WILSON. 
The White House, 24th March, 1917. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 

Under authority contained in the Naval Appropriation Act approved March 4, 
1917 (Public No. 391, 64th Cong.), it is hereby ordered that the provisions of the 
Eight-hour Act of June 19, 1912, are suspended with respect to persons engaged 
upon work covered by contracts with the United States, made under the War 
Department, for the construction of any military building or for any public work 
which, in the judgment of the Secretary of War, is important for purposes of 
national defense in addition to the classes of contracts enumerated in Executive 
order of March 24, 1917. 

It is further declared that the current status of war constitutes an "extraordinary 
emergency" within the meaning of that term as used in the Eight-hour Act of 
March 3, 1913 (37 Stat., 726), and that laborers and mechanics employed on work 
of the character set forth above whether employed by Government contractors 
or by agents of the Government, may, when regarded by the Secretary of War as 
necessary for purposes of national defense, be required to work in excess of eight 
hours per day, and wages to be computed in accordance with the proviso in the said act of 
March 4, 1917. 

This order shall take effect from and after this date and shall be operative dur- 
ing the pending emergencv or until further orders. 

WOODROW WILSON. 

The White House, 28th April, 1917. 



HOW INCREASED TONNAGE DECREASES TRAIN SPEED. 

We earnestly request that the members of this Commission refer to 
pages 256 to 268, inclusive, of the Report of the Eight-hour Commission, 
wherein will be found what purports to be evidence (supplied by the 
Railroads) that the increased tonnage of a train does not decrease its 
speed to any considerable extent. 

A careful reading of the e tables will show no considerable difference 
between the "speed miles per hour," between "fast freight," "slow 
freight under 50 cars per train," and "slow freight, 50 cars or more 
per train." 

The impression created perhaps on the minds of 99 out of 100 men 
not skil'ed in the technics of railway operation is that increased ton- 
nage has but little effect upon the "speed miles per hour" of any train. 

But let us analyze these "statistics:" 

At no time have railway employees advanced the argument that a 
large and powerful engine could not pull "50 cars or more per train" 
at a greater speed than a smaller engine could pull "under 50 cars per 
train." 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 31 

At no place in this tabular statement can there be found any com- 
parison between the "speed miles per hour" for the same engine. If 
any such test was made we find no reference to it. We have a right, from 
our technical knowledge of the subject, to conclude that this table simply 
shows that the engines that did pull "slow freight, 50 cars or more per 
train" show almost as great a "speed miles per hour" as did the engines 
that pulled "slow freight, under 50 cars per train" and "fast freight." 

If this is the only purpose of the table no one will question its value. 
If this table creates the impression that the same engine can pull a heavy 
train at as high a speed as a light train, we do question its value. 

It is a fact, well known to every railroad man, that one of the principal 
purposes of the railways in expending vast amounts of money in the pur- 
chase of gigantic locomotives is to make it possible to transport heavy 
freight trains at as high a "speed mile per hour" as could be done with 
the old style smaller engines with less tonnage. Few railroads purchase 
the larger freight locomotives for any other purpose, and we have a right 
to draw a conclusion from this table that with the "slow freight, 50 cars 
or more per train" the larger locomotives were used and, therefore, no 
great showing in decrease in "speed miles per hour" is made in this 
table. 

Upon the occasion of meeting Mr. Howard, he was urged to make 
an original investigation of the effect of heavy tonnage upon speed of 
trains, instead of depending upon the statements of either side to the 
controversy. It was suggested that his personal knowledge, as a civil 
engineer, of the laws of speed and resistance should aid him in reaching 
a conclusion. 

It was feared from what he then said, and what we now realize, that he 
intended to use only the data already prepared by the Railroads for ex 
parte evidence in an arbitration as a part of the report of the Eight-hour 
Commission — thus lending official authority to partisan evidence. 

If this Commission desires accurate information as to the effect of 
excess tonnage upon the same locomotive it will have to conduct another 
investigation, for at no place in the Report of the Eight-hour Com- 
mission do we find that the Railroads have furnished such information. 

We desire to here state, without fear of any direct denial from any 
Railroad official in the country, that the addition of tonnage to a train 
with the same locomotive, does reduce its "speed miles per hour" 
and that the setting off of tonnage does increase the "speed miles per 
hour" of that train. 

It is not an unusual order for a train dispatcher to issue, when there 
is desire to get a heavy freight train over the road without delay, to 
instruct the conductor of that train to set out enough cars to make it 
possible to reach the destination at a certain time. 

It is a common, we may say, every-day experience of train dispatchers 
to be advised by wire that freight trains enroute cannot pick up addi- 
tional ca s and get over the road as expected of them. In former days, 
when Railroads were endeavoring to clear up freight congestion, the 
practice was to issue explicit orders to reduce tonnage on all locomotives 
so as to clear up the congestion. 



32 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

Practically all Railroads have a "tonnage rating" for each and every 
one of its freight locomotives. Usually this rating is published on its 
"time cards," or by special bulletin, for the information of yard masters 
and others in making up and handling trains. As evidence that excess 
tonnage does greatly reduce the "speed miles per hour" of a train, it is 
usually found that they have a "summer" rating and a "winter" rat- 
ing so that under the adverse conditions found in cold weather the engine 
can pull the tonnage assigned. The winter rating is always less than the 
summer rating. 

We respectfully submit to the Commission that in considering the value 
of any information supplied by the Railroads to the Eight-hour Com- 
mission and which is found in its report, they have regard for the im- 
pressions possibly created by the table appearing on page 481 and in 
the tables appearing on pages 256 to 268 inclusive. All of this in- 
formation furnished by the Railroads came from the same source and 
no doubt had the same incentives in its preparation. 

We respectfully submit that we should extend the same considera- 
tion to statistical and other statements made by the Railroads in this 
wage inquiry as has been the practice, 

(1) By congressional committees when the Railroads have opposed 
the enactment of safety appliance laws, hours of service laws and other 
laws sought by railway employees for the protection of themselves and 
the travelling public and opposed by the Rai roads. 

(2) By the Interstate Commerce Commission when conducting rate 
hearings. 

(3) By State authorities in determining equitable tax rates to be 
assessed against Railroads. 

COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS FOUND IN THE REPORT OF THE 
EIGHT HOUR COMMISSION. 

Evidence of incredulity may be found in some of the statements made 
by those who formulated the report of the Eight-hour Commission. 
We do not mean that those who participated in this work express dis- 
belief in information communicated to them concerning the effect of 
tonnage on train speed, but there is evidence that the investigators are 
not entirely convinced that the Railroads' contention that increased 
tonnage does not delay trains is well founded. 

In the introductory pages of the report we find the following: 
In slow freight and local freight services the increase is decidedly heavier 
than in fast freight service. Fast freight service was refined to include trains 
actually operated with reduced tonnage to make possible a rate of speed higher 
than that of ordinary slow freight for the purpose of making required deliv- 
eries or connections with other trains, regardless of whether designated as fast 
freights, symbol trains, red ball, or other special designations. (Page 16.) 

The general purpose kept in mind in summarizing this information was to 
throw light upon the contention made by the brotherhoods that the increasing 
size of freight trains has been the direct cause of lengthening the hours per run. 
The railroads have replied that the cause of slow average train movement is 
the congestion of traffic rather than the size of the train. The statistical showing 
will not demonstrate that either side is wholly wrong. Theoretically, a heavy 
train can within certain limits be made to run as fast as a lighter one if suffi- 
ciently increased power is used; but taking the situation as we find it, with the 
assignment of locomotives actually made by the roads, it is true that the statis- 
tics indicate a somewhat slower running time for the heavier trains. There is 
n<> clear statistical showing as to the relation between the size of train and the 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 33 

amount of delay per train, but probably this is not to be expected, since an acci- 
dent to one train may cause delay to a number of others of a different class. 
There is this further difficulty, that heavy freight trains and density of traffic 
usually go together, so that it is difficult to distinguish the one cause from the 
other, and the picture is also blurred by variations in grades, weather condi- 
tions, and character of traffic, and the inadequacy of power and other facilities. 
(Page 20.) 

The railroad representatives placed at Mr. Howard's disposal the operating 
studies referred to above. In his critical review of these studies he gives con- 
sideration to the various possible plans of procedure open to an operating official 
confronted with the requirement of time and a half for overtime as follows : 
(Page 22.) 

In his historic review of railway wage schedule making, Mr. Ripley 
expresses himself as follows: 

A second, and entirely distinct, cause of overtime has made its appearance 
since 1905. This is the increase in the size of the unit of transportation, heavy 
carloads and many of them together constituting an ever-increasing train- 
load. Thus heavier trainload has directly induced a slower movement over the 
line. Over-long hours have resulted directly from this cause, over and above 
whatever delay may have been caused by congestion or inadequate facilities. 1 
Although developing rapidly after 1897, the heavy trainload practice upon most 
properties did not yield marked results until after 1905. Since that time — during 
the last decade, in fact — the results achieved have been little short of stupendous. 
The economy in transportation resulting from the heavy trainloads has, in fact, 
been largely responsible for saving the carriers from bankruptcy, under rates 
held constant by Government supervision but accompanied both by rapidly rising 
costs of materials and increased wages. During the decade to 1914 the volume 
of traffic in the United States grew by almost three-fourths ; the average train- 
load increased by about one-half ; yet by virtue of this concentration of per- 
formance in huge units the revenue freight train movement was not quite one- 
fourth greater. Only one-fourth more train mileage transported three-fourths 
more freight. 

This phenomenon — the Hill heavy-trainload principle, as developed first and 
most successfully on the Great Northern — is accountable in large measure for 
the urgency of the movement for shorter hours which began in 1906, which 
resulted in the Hours of Service Act of the following year, and finally cul- 
minated in the eight-hour movement of 1916. The significant feature of this 
second cause of overtime, by way of contrast with the first, is that it is con- 
trollable only under a heavy sacrifice of economy. The remedy — investment 
of more money — applied to inadequate facilities as a cause of overtime in itself 
promotes efficiency. But the remedy of speedier train movement, applicable to 
the second cause of overtime, so far as that means smaller and lighter train 
units, invariably results in counteracting economy of operation. So far is this 
true that the carriers often prefer to pay liberal overtime regularly rather 
than to give up their heavy trainloads. This gives the men more compensation 
to be sure; but it still leaves them with long hours in service. Their right to 
relief is undeniable. Dispute arises, however, over whether the relief shall be 
granted without any corresponding abatement of aggregate earnings. Such was 
in essence the bone of contention in 1916-17. Three ends must be comprehended 
for a successful outcome. The men should have both shorter hours and a fair 
wage; but the railroads, also, must be left free to operate with the highest 
degree of efficiency. 

The third cause of overtime is downright inefficiency or negligent disregard 
of the condition and welfare of the men. The comforting feature of this is, 
of course, that it is entirely controllable through an improved management, 
or one which is more keenly alive to the human aspects of the prob- 
lem. Men, after all. are not machines. They should and must be handled, even 
if sometimes at greater cost in money, so as to promote their well-being. Nor 



Ripley: Railroads, Rates and Regulations? I, p. 88, et seq. 



34 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

can there be much doubt, viewing the matter historically, that the eyes of general 
managers and of their subordinates were often of necessity so fixed upon finan- 
cial results from operation that they too often, until confronted by the brother- 
hoods, failed to take steps to reduce overtime to a minimum. It was but just, 
under such circumstances, that the penality for such negligence or disregard 
should be brought home to those responsible for the condition by an assess- 
ment of the cost upon them personally. This third cause is interwoven at all 
periods with the other two above mentioned; and a careful analysis must needs 
be made at any given time in order to differentiate it, as immediately control- 
lable, from those which arise from more deep-seated operating conditions. In- 
efficiency should always be penalized ; but conditions beyond the control of the 
management, even though they subject the men to hardship, can only be bet- 
tered by the administration of a real remedy, not by the imposition of yet an- 
other penalty. (Page 290.) 

A considerable measure of overtime is certainly controllable; and. as the 
men allege, so far as it is controllable, merely gives opportunity for the bene- 
ficial effect of the punitive rule to work itself out. Yet on the other hand, 
in so far as it would cost more to change operating conditions than to leave 
them as they are: in other words, to pay whatever overtime accrues instead of 
obviating it by readjusting operation. (Page 301.) 

The huge modern engine imposes more responsibility and, to a certain degree, 
more physical labor upon the engineer than did the small old-fashioned loco- 
motive. Rut the relation between physical effort and the size of the locomotive 
and weight of the train to the fireman is immediate. His job is to shovel enough 
coal to keep a full head of steam. Just how engine capacity may best be meas- 
ured is a highly technical matter; but on the general principle there is substantial 
agreement that the larger the locomotive the more arduous is the work of the 
fireman. Whether he shovels 10 tons of coal in a day's run of 10 hours, 20 
tons in a period of 16 hours, or is called upon to handle 7 or 8 tons within 
the space of 2 hours on a fast express, is to him a matter of great importance. 
Questions of physical overstrain and exhaustion are raised which differ from 
any of the problems with which the other brotherhoods have to deal. (Page 
320.) 

The firemen have demanded both an increase of pay commensurate with the 
increasing size and power of locomotives and relief from excessive physical 
effort. The proposal of relief, apart from increased pay has assumed a number 
of forms. One is to require the employment of two firemen on extra heavy 
locomotives, as is done on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. The Western 
Arbitration Award of 1915, while not requiring a second fireman on locomotives 
weighing 200,000 pounds or over on drivers, prescribed for the adjustment of 
relief by a special commission of five. This followed the Award of the Eastern 
Firemen in 1913 as to procedure, although somewhat less elaborately in detail. 
Another proposal for relief is the split division, as is customary on one division 
of the New York Central, where the firemen's work is exceptionally heavy. 
The engineer and the train crew in these instances run through the division, but 
tlie firemen are laid off half way. The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie follows a similar 
practice for both enginemen. Yet another proposition for relief is that help 
should lie given by a man riding on the locomotive for that purpose, so that the 
coal can always be reached by the fireman from the deck. Such was the purport 
Ol a clause in the Western Firemen's Award of 1915. Release also from the 
work of cleaning locomotives for firemen, and from setting up wedges, etc., 
for engineers was granted at the same time. (Page 321.) 

Overtime as a factor in wages has increased in frequency with the develop- 
ment of irregular service, in place of such early railroading "by the card." 
I nfler such circumstances the volume of overtime was perhaps less common. 
In fact, there is some evidence that long hours are more affected by the relative 
density of traffic in relation to the capacity of the plant, than by irregular opera- 
tion, b.ven a single track line, before being congested with traffic, might suffer 
from 'acts of God;" but it normally could still operate more or less on routine. 
It was the growth of traffic up to the point of saturation which seems to have 
been productive -I delays, arising in part from overburdened facilities, and in 
part from poor management, unable to take full advantage of what was at 
hand for use. At all events, the appearance of "wild cat" trains in freight 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 35 

service-.-that is to say, trains like those which are now steadily on the increase — 
starting whenever a loading to capacity was obtained, introduced a new element 
of uncertainty. (Page 288.) 

And then, finally there is the distinction between gross and net earnings. The 
form of the held-away-from-home-terminal rule will affect the expenses of the 
men while out in service. Three, or as sometimes may happen, seven nights 
a week having to be passed under expense away from home, with all the ac- 
companying meal charges, are just as necessary to consider in figuring the real 
day's pay, as the flat rate per mile or per hour with which the calculation of 
earnings begins. (Page 286.) 

The contribution to the report of 'the Eight-hour Commission, pre- 
pared by Mr. Clark, seems to be a recitation of what he observed and 
heard, in a personal survey of the entire situation. It appears that 
most of his report is based entirely upon interviews with railway officials 
and employes, although he does occasionally refer to certain statistics 
prepared by the Railroads. 

The fact that Mr. Clark quotes at great length from what was said by 
railway officials and employes interviewed by him, may cause a reader 
of the report to express the opinion that it is non-technical, and depends 
upon "hearsay" evidence. Because it is non-technical and because he 
does report what he personally saw and heard gives it special value. 

From Mr. Clark's statement the following is reproduced : 

Some years ago several roads began experiments to ascertain how they could 
most cheaply carry a ton of freight a mile. Out of these experiments and the 
discussion they evoked arose a theory which became the main tenet of the so- 
called heavy-tonnage school of railway operators. These men have proved that 
freight can be moved more cheaply in large units than in small units. (Page 
404.) 

Consequently, while the average freight train a generation ago consisted of 
25 to 50 cars and weighed 1,000 tons or thereabouts, the typical "drag freight" 
of to-day carries double the number of cars and three times the tonnage of 
its predecessors. (Page 404.) 

Numerous are the changes that delay these long trains, especially in the present 
transitional stage of their operation. Though grades have been lowered and 
smoothed out, they become jumpy from season to season with the setting and 
reballasting of the track. So finely worked out are engine ratings on some 
divisions that even these changes may cause a train to stall. Climatic conditions, 
such as a heavy snow, or wet rails, or a strong head wind, or a sudden cold 
snap, will retard a train whose locomotive is pulling its very maximum. Sidings 
have not been built long enough to hold these big trains, and so when two of 
them meet they must "saw past," as railway men say; or it may be necessary 
to break a train on two sidings several miles apart, and for the locomotive to 
double back this distance and pick up the rear half of its train after a passenger 
had gone ahead or another freight has passed. Still greater are the delays 
caused by insufficient trackage in terminals. Even yards recently laid out. and 
designed to handle traffic for 50 yards ahead, like the Minoa yard near Syracuse, 
have no tracks that will hold 100 cars. Therefore after the engineer of such a 
train receives the signal that the main track is clear ahead he must pull out 
on the main track, backdown one or more yard tracks to pick up the rear sections 
of his train, pump up his air, and get away — a process that takes from 20 minutes 
to an hour. At the final terminal he must repeat all these processes with varia- 
tions. Sometimes in order to avoid blocking crossings in a city the track is 
on the street grade, the train must be broken into two sections at a siding beyond 
the city limits, and the engine after putting the first half away must double 
back and bring in the rear section. Terminal delays caused by heavy tonnage 
might be described from several other angles, but these examples illustrate their 
general character. 



36 AKt.l Ml N I WD BRIEF 

While rolling stock can be brought up to the condition required by new 
operating policies quicker than tracks and yards, the engines and cars on Ameri- 
can railways are still inadequate to the tasks that ambitious managers and super- 
intendents have imposed upon them. A long train may contain cars from a 
score of railroads, differently constructed and maintained, and of various ages 
and design. Many were never intended to stand the pull of 3.000 or 4.IHKI tons 
behind them, and so must be placed well toward the rear, though they belong 
to the same cut. carry the same kind of contents, and are to set off at the 
same station, as modern steel cars located on account of their weight and strength 
immediately behind the locomotive. This inconvenient arrangement doubles the 
time required to deliver such cars en route. Cars can not be coupled together 
rigidly— this is a mechanical impossibility in practical service and such a tram 
would be difficult to start. Consequently a few inches play or "slack" inter- 
vene between each two cars in a train, and the sum total of this slack grows 
with the length of the train, being double the amount in a 100-car train that it 
is in a 50-car train. When a train is first made up, or when it has been running 
on a down grade, this slack runs up, so that such a train will be several feet 
shorter than' a train where the slack is out. If the slack of a long train has 
run up, the locomotive may start an appreciable time before the caboose gets in 
motion. When the locomotive's pull on the caboose conies, the former is already 
under full headway and the latter is jerked violently forward on a '"crack the 
whip" principle. (Page 405.) 

In stopping on a down grade, unless the brakes are used very skillfully, the 
reverse occurs, and the caboose collides sharply with the train ahead. The same 
principle applies in varying degrees to every car, and the amount of rough usage 
that rolling stock gets is in a general way proportionate to the length of the 
train in which it runs. Consequently great skill and care are required to stop 
and start heavy tonnage trains without breaking up the equipment, and on lengthy 
runs this adds appreciably to the time a crew is on the road. However, time 
employed in ordinary stops is a minor item compared with the time lost because 
drawheads are pulled out by slack jerks, or because the couplings of an old or 
defective car can not stand the strain of the heavy load behind. If the train 
is mming slowly when this happens and the air hose parts, the brakes set at 
once, bringing all the cars behind, as well as the caboose, to an immediate stop; 
but if the train is moving rapidly its momentum partially overcomes the resistance 
of the brakes, and brings it gradually to a pause and lessens the jar. So. para- 
doxical as it may seem to a layman, trainmen dread air-hose trouble most when 
going from 3 to 8 miles an hour. A man then bumps into the nearest object 
with about the same force as if he were to walk briskly in the night, or to run 
at full speed against a door or a wall. Caboose fixtures are torn away, and 
brake beams and couplings on the weaker cars are loosened. Coupling and 
air-brake accidents increase with the size of a train more rapidly than the ton- 
nage; other equipment failures or defects, such as falling brake beams and hot 
boxes, are proportionate to the number of cars handled. "Therefore when trains 
are lengthened from 50 cars to 100. the chance of delays from the latter causes 
is doubled, and from the former causes is more than doubled. 

Locomotives are not rerated at frequent intervals, but their hauling capacity 
constantly decreases with service. During a season like last summer, when all 
rolling stock was employed and there was no respite -for repairs, and when me- 
chanical labor was scarce and expensive, the condition of motive power retro- 
graded. On some roads the mechanical department reports the condition of en- 
gines weekly, and ratings are changed accordingly. However, in many cases 
tonnage deductions were not made for these changes, engines were overloaded, 
and delays became more frequent. Another cause of detention, though not peculiar 
to heavy tonnage trains, is the poor quality of fuel caused by the present coal 
and oil shortage. Some oil locomotives are being converted ' into coal burners 
because contract- for oil can not be renewed, and divisions formerly provided 
with good -teaming coal are now drawing their supplies from inferior sources. 

Engineers also attribute part of their delays to curtailed allowances of lubri- 
cants, especially cylinder oil. Formerly they drew these supplies almost at will, 
and a great deal ol oil was wasted; now oil companies send experts over a road. 
who ride engines and watch consumption, and on a basis of these investigations 
contract to furnish engine oil on a mileage basis. Tin- system is unpopular 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 37 

with engineers because it deprives them of their discretion in using lubricants, 
and they assert that allowances are cut so close that no margin is left for extra 
lubrication demanded where water is poor, when an engine has run down and is 
working badly, or when the locomotive is overloaded or meets bad weather. 

Complaints of oil shortage also come from the caboose, as conductors on some 
roads attribute hot box delays to an insufficient allowance of waste and lubricants. 
In all these cases it is practically impossible for a general observer to dis- 
tinguish the exceptional from the usual. Specific instances are related where 
brasses have heated or engines have been otherwise put out of order because 
heavy tonnage trains are detained upon the road, engines make additional mile- 
age running for water, doubling hills, and doubling sidings for long meets, and 
oil runs so low that cylinders can not be lubricated. Engineers estimate how much 
additional coal is burned, at an expense of many dollars, because engines run 
hard for want of a few cents worth of oil. They tell of begging or buying 
oil at a cotton-gin or a sawmill to complete their runs. These complaints bunch 
on particular roads, while the engineers on other roads with similar oil contracts 
report no difficulty. Division superintendents and superintendents of motive 
power scout the idea that any railway will adopt the suicidal policy of stinting 
oil at the cost of train delays and additional coal consumption. But here again 
the employes come back with the charge, which is repeated in many other con- 
nections, that interdepartmental rivalry and competition for records among the 
heads of different branches of operation has reached a point on many railways 
where officials will sacrifice the general interest of the road for the advantage 
of their own department. In this particular case they accuse the supply or the 
mechanical department of trying to make a record at the expense of train opera- 
tion. Apart from this, if the condition of motive power has been declining and 
congestion of traffic has added to road delays during the past season, and oil 
allowances have not been adjusted to these new conditions, shortages would be 
likely to occur, especially where the original contract was made on a very close 
margin by competing oil companies. 

Other things being equal, heavy-tonnage trains experience more delays on 
divisions having difficult grades than on level divisions, and on single-track roads 
than where lines are double-tracked. For instance, the Michigan Central in 
Canada is reported to keep excellent schedules with heavy tonnage, while its 
traffic suffers considerable delay over the hilly divisions in Michigan itself. Long 
trains -suffer little interruption upon the prairie divisions of the Northern Pacific, 
which are double-tracked ; but tonnage reductions are sometimes necessary on the 
same system to clear a blockade of detained traffic in the mountains. 

When trains are double-headed over entire divisions in order to carry heavy 
tonnage, the chance of engine trouble is doubled and the control of the train 
is poorer than when it .is pulled by a single locomotive. Some engineers prefer 
double-heading in spite of the additional dirt and discomfort of riding a second 
engine, because they have more company on the road and a larger crew to make 
repairs. 

Both the men who operate the trains and subordinate officers attribute part 
of the delays caused by heavy trains to what they term a "craze for tonnage 
records" among their superior officials. They say that the officer on the ground 
either has no authority to reduce tonnage when local conditions, such as a bad 
engine or poor fuel, or a slippery track, make it advisable to do this ; or else 
that these officers dislike to incur the risk of criticism by reporting a train out 
with less than the engine rating, although they know that the reduction is 
justifiable. In other words, local officers run more risk of censure when they 
consult the interest of traffic than when they follow a hard and fast rule that 
violates that interest. 

All railway officials understand, of course, that a maximum tonnage limit 
exists for every train, beyond which it is not economical to go, but administra- 
tive difficulties lie in the way of applying this principle uniformly over a great 
railroad system. 

The first grievance voiced by railway employees is excessive and irregular 
hours of labor; their second grievance is overloaded trains. These two con- 
ditions are associated, and the second is usually given as the reason for the 
first. The hostility of railway workers to heavy tonnage, however, is based 



38 ARGUMENT AND LSKIl I 

n more grounds than protracted working hours. One of the economies of big 
trains is that they save labor. They are an administrative device that lias the 
same effect as a labor-saving machine. Their influence is seen in the numerous 
demotions of engineers to hremen and of conductors to trainmen on divisions 
where heavy tonnage has recently been adopted. Long trains moving slowly 
have lessened the mileage which a train-crew can make, have abolished many 
attractive short-time runs, and have partly nullified the benefits which employees 
anticipated from wage advances. The general chairman of the conductors on 
a large western system said: 

"Up to 1903, freight conductors got 3 cents a mile. They now get 
4.18 cents a mile, but make less money on a mileage basis than under the 
.,1.1 rate on account of the long time it takes them to get our heavy trains 
over the road. In drag freight service payment is practically on a time 
basis now." 
Heavy tonnage has added to the labors and responsibility and possibly to the 
hazard of train workers. The question of hazard is in dispute, and certain rail- 
roads have gathered statistics upon this subject indicating that fewer accidents 
occur per ton of freight moved a mile if a few heavy trains are used to trans- 
port it than if it is carried in a larger number of short trains. In other words, 
the number of trains on a given length of track, and not the size of individual 
trains, determines the probability of accident. But if there is one employee for 
200 tons of freight on the short train and one employee for 600 tons of freight 
on the long train, the service may be performed with less hazard to workers in 
general by long trains, but at the same time the hazard of the individual em- 
ployee may be greater on those trains, because he handles a larger unit of traffic. 
Viewed from the standpoint of society at large, long trains are safer; viewed 
from the standpoint of the man employed, short trains may offer less risk of 
injury. The latter point even may be arguable, but, as the trainman or con- 
ductor sees the subject, he has to walk more cars to get to the engine to com- 
municate with the engineers; he has to go between more cars to connect air- 
hose or repair drawheads ; he has longer distances to signal, and more chance of 
being misunderstood ; and, what appeals more to him than the tragedies of 
railroading, he is knocked about in the caboose by the long slack running up and 
jerking out, and intermittently nurses more serious bruises when the train breaks 
on a slow up grade, and he is projected suddenly off the cab seat or against the 
nearest locker. Consequently, though the extra hazard of heavy tonnage, may 
be disproved by statistics, it remains an article of faith with freight-train em- 
ployees. 

No question exists as to the added labor and responsibility of operating heavy- 
tonnage trains. The fireman has to shovel more coal ; the engineer has to man- 
ipulate his engine with more skill, to nurse his steam with more precaution, 
and to concentrate more attention on his brakes. A conductor's clerical work 
is increased roughly in proportion to the number of cars he handles ; and he 
and his brakeman have more repair work to do, more inspections to make, and 
longer distances to walk on heavy-tonnage trains than on light ones. To walk 
some trains now running in the West is a mile's hike, and when such a train 
breaks, as usually happens, well ahead of the middle, the place must first he 
inspected to see what is wanted, then a back trip must be made to the caboose 
for tools, holts, chains, or other supplies, which must be lugged forward to the 
point where they are needed. An instance was observed where it took more than 
30 minutes, without unnecessary lost time, to inspect a broken coupling and 
laboriously to bring forward repair materials from the caboose. 

However, when employees discuss what they consider the evils of heavy ton- 
nage, they do not dwell much upon demotion, lower pay. harder work, or increased 
hazard, and where these topics are mentioned it usually indicates that the system 
is new upon their particular road or division. Their opposition is very consist- 
ently directed against the long and irregular hours of service which they claim 
heavy-tonnage fosters. Train workers are light-tonnage advocates on a basis of 
theory. They assert that freight can be handled cheaper in shorter trains than 
m those now m use. A pamphlet written by a railway conductor, entitled "What 
Ails the Railroads, or Time versus Tonnage," and attacking the hcavv-tonnage 
policy on -rounds of operating economy, has a wide circulation anion- railway 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 39 

workers — or at least, is frequently cited by them. This pamphlet quotes exten- 
sively from a decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission, more especially 
upon the relation of slow trains to car shortage. But the economies of railway 
operation lie beyond the range of this report, except as the theories mentioned 
express the sentiment of railway workers, and afford an additional justification in 
their opinion for the disfavor with which they regard heavy-tonnage policies 
(Page 407.) 

Heavy-tonnage trains do stall occasionally and some time is lost coupling and 
uncoupling helpers at the ends of heavy grades and doubling hills where helpers 
are not provided. But if yard, siding, and breakage delays were eliminated, most 
through freight trains could maintain an 8-hour schedule without increasing their 
speed between stations. 

Adequate helper service is not provided for their heavy-tonnage trains on steep 
grades, and engineers have to double hills. This extra mileage and long siding de- 
lays then force them to uncouple from their train and run for water. These in- 
terruptions become cumulative, since they interfere with prompt dispatching, 
delays occur in receiving superseding orders, and on the principle of safety first 
the train creeps along from siding to siding without a definite schedule ahead. 
(Page 408.) 

So many instances have occurred where hours of labor are more protracted 
than before the act was passed, that employees have suspected the railway man- 
agement of the country of systematically trying to pile up overtime, in order to 
show that the law was unduly burdensome upon their companies. But abundant 
reasons exist, other than a program of such doubtful expediency, to explain why 
little effort has been made to put freight crews on an 8-hour schedule. Even if 
that were the ultimate intention, the first step would be to introduce short shifts 
in the yards before approaching this second, more difficult, phase of the problem. 
If that intention does exist in the minds of railway managers it has not been ex- 
pressed, and the law is not mandatory. Long hours are just as lawful and — ■ 
broadly speaking — just as cheap as short hours, and during the present preoc- 
cupation of railway administrators with war problems existing conditions are not 
likely to be modified. (Page 409.) 

We would greatly regret, should the impression have been created 
by anything said herein that we questioned either the sincerity or ability 
of Mr. Howard as an Investigator. Without reservation, we do ques- 
tion the value of the data on which he based his investigation. 

Any testimony or information presented by us we believe to be 
accurate, but acknowledge it to be ex parte evidence. Regardless of its 
volume, or its value to this Commission, we have not asked that any 
portion of it be included as a part of a governmental report. We earn- 
estly contend that, ex parte evidence prepared by the railroads, in a 
partisan attempt to defeat the adoption of an eight-hour day with time 
and one-half for overtime, should not have been the basis for Mr. 
Howard's contribution to the report of the Eight-hour Commission. 

Perhaps we have slept on our rights when we have not asked that much 
of our evidence that an eight-hour day, with time and one-half, is just, 
be included in this same report. 

We respectfully submit that this Commission should have great re- 
gard for the partisan origin of much of the report of the Eight-hour 
Commission, when referring to it in the present wage inquiry. 

As best evidence that Mr. Howard sometimes drew his own conclu- 
sions, instead of those of the Railroads, even though such conclusionss 
were perhaps formulated after a study of the Railroads' evidence, his 
determination to be fair is made evident in the following quotations from 
his contribution to the report of the Eight-Hour Commission. 



40 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

For most of the problems involved, no exact solution is attempted, but it is 
hoped that the information presented will be of some assistance in future 
discussions of the practicability of an actual working day of eight hours Eot 
employees engaged in the operation of trains. 

In order to ascertain what information had been gathered or might be obtained 
from the roads and organizations, interviews were had with representatives of the 
brotherhoods and of the railways. 

The national conference commitee of the railways submitted for examination 
copies of studies of operating conditions on 23 representative railroads. These 
had been prepared in connection with the recent eight-hour movement. They com- 
prise about 1,100 pages of typewritten matter with numerous charts, tables, 
and diagrams; and as the first step in this investigation it was decided to make 
them the subject of a critical examination and analysis. The result of this 
analysis is given later in this report. (Page 420.) 

It was thought in the beginning that a field examination of one or more divisions 
of certain railroads might be undertaken, but in view of the limited time within 
which this report was required, and the completeness of the records of existing 
train performance on a number of roads, as submitted in the studies referred to 
above, it was decided to give up the plan of field examinations. 

It was plainly impracticable either in point of time or facilities at hand to con- 
duct a series of tests which would indicate the proper relation between speed and 
tonnage, fuel and grades. It was, therefore, decided to use the data compiled 
by the American Railway Engineering Association, adopted in 1911 and 1915. and 
published on pages 526-535 of the Manual of that Association. (Page 423.) 

As to train resistance we may quote the Manual of the American Railway Eagi- 
neering Association as follows: "Numerous tests demonstrate that there is no 
absolute value for train resistance. For practical purposes freight train resistance 
can be considered constant between velocities of 7 and 35 miles per hour." (Page 424.) 

In connection with the employees' demands for an 8-hour basic working day 
and time and one-half for overtime, operating studies were made on one or more 
divisions of a number of railroads. 

These studies were made by the railroads under the auspices of the national 
conference committee of the railways. They are confined to freight service and 
for the most part are based on the month of October, 1915. 

Copies were furnished to this Commission bv the committee as follows: (Page 
437.) 



COMPLICATIONS OF THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF 
PAYMENT. 

We found much "Railroad publicity" in the advertising and editorial 
pages of the newspapers of the country during the eight-hour movement 
for the purpose of confusing the public mind. As best we could, we 
endeavored to enlighten that public mind by the issuance of bulletins, 
circulated by our members. In one of these bulletins information as to 
the application of the "double standard of pay" under the ten-hour day, 
and "how men in train service are paid," was included, as follows: 

Wage schedules or agreements, by which the wages of men in train 
service are fixed are so complicated that those not directly connected 
therewith have found difficulty in understanding the railway wage sys- 
tem. Relying upon this lack of knowledge of the reading public the 
Railroads have been quite successful in distorting facts and deceiving the 
public into the belief that railway employees are not only highly paid, 
but that the Adamson law instead of being an "eight-hour law" is a 
"wage increase law." In order that those who read may understand the 
peculiar conditions under which men in train service work and are paid, 
the following is presented: 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 41 

Much has been said" during recent years with regard to "speeding up" 
systems in the employment of workers. These so-called efficiency 
methods have included the old "piece work" and "bonus" systems of 
wage payments. These methods have usually been discussed as inno- 
vations and have been opposed by the workers in most industries, 
although for nearly half a century Railroads have enforced both piece 
work and the bonus methods of payments upon their employees in train 
service. Although effecting a wide difference in the earning power of 
individual employees, this system, nevertheless, has become popular 
with them. 

Except on the large proportion of Railroads where the eight-hour wage 
basis has already been adopted, the rule usually found in wage agree- 
ments for freight service is "ten hours or less, 100 miles or less, consti- 
tutes a day." Under this rule an employee is guaranteed not less than 
one day's pay for a single period of service, although his true basis of that 
day's pay is 100 miles. 

If employees engaged in transporting a freight train over a division 
of railway average ten miles per hour, or complete the 100 miles in ten 
hours, each of them receives one day's pay at the rate specified in the 
agreement. If the train is transported 150 miles in fifteen hours, each is 
paid for one and one-half days. Such payments are based on the piece- 
work system; so much per hundred miles, so long as the "miles equal or 
exceed the hours." 

Should the work of transporting the train become so laborious as to 
reduce the speed below an average of ten miles per hour, wages cease to 
be paid on the "mileage basis," or piece-work plan, and are then paid on 
the "hourly basis," at the rate of one-tenth of a day's pay for each hour 
in service. Thus, if the train is transported 100 miles in twelve hours 
each employee is paid for twelve hours' work, or twelve-tenths of a day's 
pay, regardless of the miles. 

In this manner overtime begins "when the hours exceed the miles," 
and overtime being paid "pro rata," as described in railway wage agree- 
ments, inflicts no penalty upon the employer, for, being in most cases 
the result of heavy trains, it is said to be an evidence of managerial 
efficiency, because it usually develops a reduction in wage cost per 
"ton mile," although it shows an increase in wage cost per "train mile." 

Formerly, when the capacity of the locomotive was not so heavily 
taxed by train loading, a bonus was devised by which it was believed 
that the speed of trains would be accelerated. A train crew that trans- 
ported a train 100 miles in less than ten hours was paid as much as though 
it had consumed the entire ten hours. This was a source of high earnings 
to the employees, for if the locomotive was equal to the task it was 
possible for the employees to make 150 miles (one and a half day's pay) 
within a ten-hour period. 

Twenty-five years ago employees expected to "make miles" and re- 
ceive these bonus payments for a great majority of trips. Where it was 
evident that this could not be done, a higher rate per "day" was usually 
agreed upon, as in local freight service. 

With this detailed description of a complicated wage system the reader 
may readily understand that if by loading trains to capacity of locomo- 
tives speed is reduced to less than an average of ten miles an hour, all 



42 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

profit to the employee from the bonus system disappears. From a 
piece worker, receiving additional payments for premiums on speed, he 
develops into a worker paid by the hour, with no extra compensation 
for overtime, and no limit for his "day" except the Federal "sixteen- 
hour law," which in many instances does not apply. 

The rate of wages per hour, as agreed upon under this bonus system, 
has always been much less than in industries where men have a fixed 
day's work. For instance, skilled workers in the building trades usu- 
ally receive a rate of wages per hour 25 per cent higher than locomotive 
engineers and conductors, and wages of unskilled building laborers in 
many instances are higher than those of engineers and conductors, and 
greatly exceed the wage rates of locomotive firemen, brakemen, and 
switchmen. 

Railway wage statistics show that by the overloading of freight trains, 
which in many instances eliminated the mileage basis of payments to 
employees, the wage cost to the Railroads per ton mile of freight traffic 
has been greatly reduced. Also, the earnings of employees for a ten- 
hour day have decreased greatly, as a necessary consequence of the 
decline in the average speed of trains. 

The foregoing being an accurate statement of facts, the reader should 
not be surprised that there has been much "industrial unrest" among 
men who have suffered so severly because of the changed operating con- 
ditions in railway train service. While we hear of many increases in 
wages of employees in other industries, many of which have been volun- 
teered by the employer, the railway employees are yet suffering because 
of a lower wage earning capacity, the results of the increased tonnage 
of trains. 

Under a bonus system of wage payments or with no restrictions upon 
the hours of service except the federal "sixteen hour law," it is not sur- 
prising that in many instances the Railroads are able to demonstrate 
that some railway employees are "highly paid." In the last western 
arbitration, in order to convince the neutral arbitrators that there was 
no occasion for an increase in the wages of engineers and firemen, an 
extensive report was made by the Railroads and introduced as an "ex- 
hibit," which included the names of a comparatively large number of 
engineers and firemen who did earn large sums of money for their serv- 
ices performed during the month of October, 1913. The month of Octo- 
ber, 1913, was perhaps selected by the Railroads as during that month 
railroad business reached a degree of density theretofore unheard of and 
employees were worked to probably a higher average number of hours 
per month than ever before. 

To discredit the efforts of engineers and firemen to secure relief from 
low hourly wages and for the purpose of "influencing the jury" and 
thereby making it improbable that the neutral arbitrators would grant 
any increase in wages, the Railroads' committee sent out from Chicago 
a press dispatch transmitted to nearly all the newspapers in the United 
States wherein the statement was made that "some Engineers earned 
more money than Governors of States." No doubt this expression was 
published in the newspapers because of its novelty and to carry out the 
purpose of the Railroads to discredit locomotive engineers. High earn- 
ings of firemen during the same month were also reported and many 
editorials were printed in those newspapers that favor the Railroads 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 43 

wherein the opinion was expressed that engineers and firemen were not 
entitled to an increase in wages. 

In order that the reader may understand how engineers and firemen, 
and for that matter conductors and brakemen can earn large sums of 
money during one month's period in train service, the following four 
names and earnings are herewith reproduced from the Railroads' state- 
ment: 

"E. J. Hayden, engineer, Great Northern. Earned $212.95, worked 395 hours, 
an equivalent to 49.3 days of eight hours each. His wages equaled 53.9 cents per 
hour, or $4.31 per day of eight hours. 

"L. N. Snyder, engineer, Rock Island. Earned $176.45, worked 405 hours, an 
equivalent of 50.6 days of eight hours each. His wages equaled 43.6 cents per 
hour, or $3.49 per day of eight hours. 

"S. T. Evans, firemen, Canadian Pacific. Earned $183.31, worked 481 hours, an 
equivalent of 60.1 days of eight hours each. His wages equaled 38.1 cents per 
hour, or $3.05 per day of eight hours. 

"G. McElmurry, firemen, Chicago and Northwestern. Earned $135.29, worked 
412.7 hours, an equivalent of 51.6 days of eight hours. His wages equaled 32.8 
cents per hour, or $2.62 per day of eight hours." 

That the reader may know to what extent Railroad men are required 
to work during a single month's period let us analyze the case of G. 
McElmurry, the fireman on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway who 
earned $135.29 and worked 412.7 hours during the month of October, 
1913, and whose exploits have been advertised to such a great extent 
by the Railroads' arbitration exhibit: 

A worker in the building trades is only employed 44 hours a week — 
eight hours for five days in the week and four hours on Saturday. If he 
is required to work more than eight. hours and four hours on the days 
named he is paid overtime at the rate of time and one-half; that is, his 
rate of wages is advanced fifty per cent whenever employed outside of 
the regular working hours of these six days. If he is employed on 
Saturday afternoon or Sunday, or any holiday, or is called out in the 
night to perform a special service he is paid "double time"; that is, he 
is paid a one hundred per cent increase in wages. But notwithstanding 
the fact that he receives these hourly punitive rates for overtime while 
railroad employees receive no such rate, it is easy to compute that 44 
hours a week for 52 weeks in a year would require the employee in the 
building trades to work 2288 hours during the year. This Fireman 
McElmurry worked an average of 51.6 days during the month of Octo- 
ber, 1913, and if he worked twelve months at this rate he would work 
6192 hours in a year. 

This means that under present practice a fireman is required by 
the Railroads to work as many hours in one year as an employee in the 
building trades is required to work in 2 years and 8 months and almost 
2 weeks. 

And yet the Railroads have the audacity to publish in their newspapers 
the statement that this man was "overpaid." 

It has been the success of the Railroads in "educating the public" 
through the newspapers that has made it absolutely necessary for rail- 
road employees to adopt this method of telling the truth to the public. 



44 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

On practically twenty per cent of the railroad mileage in the United 
States, the men in train service had succeeded in securing wage agree- 
ments that fixed the basis of pay for through freight service on the 
eight-hour day basis, but did not include a "penalty" overtime rate; 
that is, on approximately twenty per cent of the mileage of the Rail- 
roads, the men were already on an eight-hour basis and were receiving 
overtime at the regular rate, which did not prevent excessive hours of 
employment. It was believed, however, that if the remaining eighty 
per cent of the railway mileage of the United States could be induced to 
include the eight-hour basis in through freight service, and all Railroads 
could be induced to extend the eight-hour basis to all classes of service, 
except passenger service, and if all Railroads could be induced to pay 
"time and one-half" for overtime, a much needed relief from excessive 
hours of employment would be secured by the engineers, conductors, 
firemen, brakemen and hostlers. 

It is true that the opportunity to increase earnings by working many 
hours during each twenty-four hours has been increased by the larger 
freight trains and it was known that under the prevailing system, by 
working twelve to sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, a larger monthly 
"pay check" could be earned. 

This steady increase in the number of hours of work has been the only 
way in which the railroad employee has been able to keep his total daily 
wage up to the level at which it was in the days when it was possible to 
earn his bonus by covering more than ten miles an hour. Every in- 
crease in size of freight locomotives and tonnage of freight trains has 
meant that the employee must work longer in order still to earn the same 
daily wage. 

Naturally, strenuous efforts have been made by the employees to 
change this situation and to secure an increase in the rate of wages per 
hour so it might be the equal of that in the building or other trades, and 
that a fair day's wage might be earned without working overtime. 

Their only hope was a change from a ten to an eight-hour basis of pay. 
As an arbitration board had declined to reduce the locomotive hostler's 
twelve-hour day to ten hours, and other arbitration boards had refused 
to increase the rate of pay per hour, there was not much to expect in 
that direction, so with the expectation of a possible conflict they de- 
manded the substitution of the eight-hour for the ten-hour basis in 
existing wage schedules and an overtime rate of time and one-half. 

That which was really demanded was a lessening of hours of work is 
shown by the fact that in terminal work also, where engineers, conduc- 
tors, switchmen, firemen, and hostlers are employed entirely on the 
hourly basis, the demand was the same for an eight-hour day, with time 
and one-half for any work requiring more than eight hours in a period 
of twenty-four. 

This demand for an eight-hour day meant a reduction in earnings for 
the large number of men theretofore working more than ten hours a 
day. Their opportunity to earn more than one day's wage was elim- 
inated through the "penalty" overtime provision, because in ter- 
minal work the Railroad can always change crews when the eight hours 
are up, and, naturally, will do so and employ a new crew rather than pax- 
extra overtime rates. The employees sacrificed higher wages in order 
to get shorter hours. 



TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME 45 

The cost to the Railroads of applying the eight-hour basis to freight 
service would be apparent only when speed of trains was less than twelve 
and one-half miles an hour. So long as the average speed (from the time 
the employees began service until relieved) equaled or exceeded 100 
miles to eight hours, the change of basis would cost the Railroads nothing 
and would add nothing to the earnings of employees. In road service 
only when the period of service extended into overtime would cost to 
Railroads and earnings for the men increase. 

It was contended by the employees that when freight trains moved at 
a speed averaging less than 100 miles for eight hours an injustice was 
done not only to them but to the public, suffering from what the Rail- 
roads claimed was a "car-shortage." The eight-hour day in freight 
service, accompanied with time and one-half for extra work, would, it 
was claimed, not only reduce the hours worked by the employee but 
result in more expeditious movements of the public's commodities. 

In terminal work, theoretically, it would increase the cost to the Rail- 
roads 25 per cent without adding to the earnings of the individual em- 
ployee. It was assumed by the Railroads that where two ten-hour 
shifts of men are now used with one switching locomotive in a terminal 
"costing two days' wages," there would be three eight-hour shifts 
"costing three days' wages." 

In practice a large majority of switching locomotives would be op- 
erated for only two eight-hour shifts — performing all work now done at 
no additional cost. Where it was necessary to operate a locomotive 
continuously three eight-hour shifts would be employed, each shift 
receiving one day's pay. But the three shifts would render four to six 
hours more service in each twenty-four-hour period than at present, for 
there would be no intervals between shifts of crews and the present 
practice of stopping one hour for meals at midday and midnight would be 
discontinued. 



INCONSISTENCIES OF THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF WAGES. 

A tabular statement appears on page 301, of the Report of the Eight- 
Hour Commission, showing that under the "12^2 mile per hour" speed 
basis for overtime at "time and one-half" that "a man running" 100 miles 
in 12 hours will get $7.00; but if he runs 150 miles — 50 per cent farther 
— he will be paid only $6.00. If the two trips were each made in 14 
hours, the shorter one would yield $8.50 as against only $7.50 for the 
longer one." 

This is simply an inconsistency of the double standard upon which 
wages of railway train and engine employes are based, and is no new dis- 
covery, except that when overtime hours are increased it develops a new 
feature ; thus, without time and one-half for overtime, "a man running 
150 miles in 8 hours earns more than a man running 100 miles in 10 
hours." 

While these instances may afford just criticisms of the double standard 
they should not defeat the only known method of preventing overtime — 
a punitive rate. 



46 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

MANUAL LABOR PERFORMED BY LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN. 

By referring to page 481 of the report of the Eight-hour Commission 
it will be found there a table entitled "Digest of Tables Showing Dis- 
tribution of Fireman's Time." The Railroads set forth in the data 
upon which this table was based what would be accepted by non-techni- 
cal men, as earnest as they might be to render a just verdict, as evidence 
that the work of a locomotive fireman in freight service is but a sinecure. 
For instance it is shown that a fireman on duty 12 hours and 12 minutes 
performed "manual labor" for only 3 hours and 17 minutes; that the 
fireman was engaged in the actual firing of the engine only 1 hour and 
48 minutes. 

That such preposterous "evidence" would be submitted by the 
Railroads leads us to think that they were discounting the intelligence of 
any arbitration board that might have been selected to have disposed of 
the eight-hour question; in fact, to a practical man it would be accepted 
as an affront to his intelligence. 

This ill-disguised attempt to deceive the non-technical mind was first 
made in an Eastern arbitration of locomotive firemen and hostlers in 
1913, when similar statements were prepared by the Railroads. The 
only visible effect of their presentation to a close observer was the smile 
of incredulence that passed over the face of the neutral arbitrator when 
it was presented. But, to determine for himself whether locomotive 
firemen performed "manual labor" while firing a freight locomotive, the 
arbitrator availed himself of a temporary adjournment of the Board to 
ride upon freight locomotives and there observe the work of a locomo- 
tive fireman, and we are quite sure that the presentation of any such 
statement was so manifestly unfair that it tended to discredit other 
testimony presented by the Railroads. 

Again, in the Western Arbitration of Engineers, Firemen and Hostlers, 
in 1914-1915, the same attempt was made, and diagrams were intro- 
duced that graphically set forth the contentions of the Railroads that 
locomotive firemen performed but little manual labor in freight service. 
We fear that in that arbitration the members of the Board who were 
not practical railroad men, actually believed the contentions of the Rail- 
roads. And now, we have presented by the Railroads, through the 
statement of Mr. Howard, a similar contention, as an official document 
published by the Government. 

It would be disconcerting to us to realize how successful the Railroads 
have been in securing the inclusion of such "evidence" in the report of 
the Eight-hour Commission, but for the fact that we believe its mani- 
fest unfairness will lead the present Wage Commission to be cautious 
in accepting any statements made by the Railroads. To that extent 
we hope that we shall not suffer by the publication of such unfair state- 
ments in a "Government report." 

In order that this Commission may understand how the Railroads are 
able to prove that a fireman performs but little "manual labor" let us 
instruct an "investigator" to ascertain how much time a carpenter, en- 
gaged in shingling a house, was taken up in the act of striking a nail 
with a hammer. If the same methods were pursued by this investiga- 



LABOR PERFORMED BY FIREMEN 47 

tor that were adopted by the investigator who produced information 
upon which this statement is based, it would probably be shown that the 
carpenter in eight hours work was actually "hitting the nail" less than 
one hour of his time — for the stroke of the hammer would be so rapid 
that even with stop watch it could not be ascertained. 

It is known by every railroad official, even those who are responsible 
for the presentation of such a statement, that the firing of a modern 
locomotive has almost passed beyond human endurance because of the 
excessive manual labor connected therewith. When not engaged in 
wage negotiations, and when expressing, informally, their personal 
opinions, any railroad official will express sympathy for the locomotive 
fireman because the manual labor required of one man is such that it is 
almost inhumane. 

It has been because of this knowledge on the part of the railroad offi- 
cials that enormous amounts have been expended in the purchase of 
mechanical stokers and many other devices that will induce the average 
man to undertake the work of a locomotive fireman. 

We present as a part of Exhibit No. 4, a statement originally 
presented as Exhibit No. 51 in the Western Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-15, which is made up of a large number of 
quotations from leading mechanical authorities. 

This statement is of extreme value to one who desires to know the real 
opinion of railroad officials and railway technical publications when such 
opinions are not prepared to combat wage demands of employees. 

These quotations are presented in the chronological order of their 
original publication, from 1910 to 1913, in order that the evolutionary 
effect of increased power and tonnage may be accurately traced. Espe- 
cial attention is called to that portion of this exhibit entitled "Labors 
of Engineers and Firemen Have Increased with Increased Power and 
Tonnage," appearing on page 39 of exhibit. 

If there were lacking evidence to prove the absurdity of the Railroads' 
estimate of "manual labor" performed by a locomotive fireman during 
a trip in freight service, these expressions of opinion would furnish that 
evidence. 

We request that the statements appearing under the caption of "Fire- 
man's Work," on pages 480 and 481 of the report of Eight-hour Commis- 
sion be compared with the following statements found in Exhibit No. 51, 
P. 39, and accredited to the highest technical authority: 

"When you come to ask a fireman to shovel coal for possibly 150 or 200 miles, 
with the thermometer standing approximately ninety to one hundred degrees 
Fahrenheit, within ten feet of the large boilers in front of him, you give a pretty 
hard proposition, especially if he has to handle from fifty to seventy-five per 
cent of the coal over the second time. Of course, we have our automatic fire- 
box doors. .We have done other things to help, and some of the roads, as I under- 
stand, have gone so far as to install and put on the engine a fan to cool the 
fireman in his work. Some of these things are accepted as being beneficial, some 
are not. — G. C. Grantier, Erie, Trav. Engrs. Ass'n Pro., 1907, page 189." 

"No Heart" in the Fireman to Do More. 

. . . You have big. long fire-boxes, nine to eleven feet long and as broad 
as the right-of-way will allow. According to the evidence now stated, there are 
many kinds of coal. . . . There are a great many Railroads that buy it at ten 



48 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

cents a ton and yet expect the Motive Power Department to make the engines 
burn it; and they expect the Motive Power Department to do this with a Train 
Dispatcher who will give the crew twenty to twenty-five hours in getting over 
the division. . . 

. . . There is not the slightest provision for rest on the side tracks as in 
former days. A great many of you remember that you could lie down on the 
side track, take your boots off and go to sleep. You cannot do so today. You 
have a little 2x4 seat, and you have to sit up and take the bitter. There is no 
sweet in a tonnage train whatever. When overtime begins, human nature asserts 
itself. The fireman has become tired, with the result of a dirty fire. He has 
no heart in him to clean it, ... I have known men to be delayed twenty 
hours in going ten miles to a terminal ; I have seen them come to a terminal and 
be six hours getting into the yard. These points have to be taken into consid- 
eration. . . . — L. D. Gillet, N. & W., Traveling Engineers' Ass'n Pro. 1907, 
p. 53. 
Men of Intelligence Wanted. 

. . . It is reasonable to assume that the average tractive power of locomo- 
tives will increase. It is within possibilities, therefore, that the increased fuel con- 
sumed per mile will render it advisable to provide mechanical means lor tiring 
locomotives in order that they may develop a high sustained tractive effort, and 
render the service attractive to men who possess qualifications to become success- 
ful locomotive engineers. . . . — Com. Report, American Ry. M. M. Ass'n 
Pro. 1909, pp. 65-66. 
It Takes Two Firemen. 

There is so much coal consumed on the up-to-date locomotive of today that it 
takes in cases two firemen (and in fact I have known even three) going over 
one division with one engineer, and the latter may not see them again probably 
in thirty days. I would be glad to know how we may expect to get co-operation 
or results from the engineer under such conditions. It will work out very well 
under the old conditions with the regular engine and so forth, but unfortunately 
we have not those conditions today. — W. Owens, Lehigh Yalley, Trav. Engrs. 
Assn. Pro. 1910, p. 257. 
More Than One Man Can Do. 

I believe it will be agreed by almost every person present that what we are 
after at present is to get something that will do more than a man will do toward 
supplying fuel to one of the modern locomotives. For the last ten or fifteen years 
there have been tremendous increases in the weight of equipment and an effort 
has been made to keep up with that weight of equipment in designing locomotives 
and to haul it at increased speeds. ... It has been my greatest trouble for 
the past year or two to have enough coal burned. I have found that in racing 
the big Pacific type of engines, with heavy trains, the difficulty we had was in 
getting a man who would put coal into the fire box fast enough. The fireman 
was working about as hard as he thought he ought to work, and what the engine 
would give with that was all right, and what we didn't get we had to stand for 
In view of that, it would seem that we ought to work for an efficient stoker, 
regardless of the economical feature, and take care of the economical feature 
after we had succeeded in getting something that will take the place of the best 
man we can produce on the locomotive at the present time, and do better than 
he can.— D. R. MacBane, Supt. M. P.. L. S. and M. S., Am. M. M. Ass'n Pro 
1910, p. 87. 
Destroying Material for Engineers. 

... I dare say the standard locomotive on most roads would lie fifty tons 
lighter if it had been forseen that the "perfect stocker" was not at the threshold. 

When some of us were firing the "big"' 17 by 24-inch eight-wheelers none 
boasted of having a "snap." The power of the present day is breaking down 
the fireman before he is fitted to assume the more responsible duties at the 
throttle. Our roads are running short of the right kind of material for engineers, 
and it is safe to say that none of the men now firing will serve as runners Eor 
a period of 50 years. . . . —Com. Report (Mr. J. R. Luckey). Traveling 
Engineers Ass'n Pro. 1911, p. 206. 



LABOR PERFORMED BY FIREMEN 49 

Eighty Per Cent of Firemen Quit in Sixty Days. 

We have not the class of men firing locomotives today that we had fifteen 
or twenty years ago. Generally speaking it is a different class altogether. I 
remember when a man got a position on a Railroad as a locomotive fireman it 
was like applying for a position in a bank. Today it is take what you can get; 
get the best that you can, . . . the young men coming UP today are better 
educated and they find that firing a locomotive engine is too laborious work. A 
year ago, between the 15th of January and the 28th of July, I employed 240 
firemen. What percentage of those men did we retain in service for sixty days? 
Less than twenty per cent. Some of them went out with a letter to ride with 
the engineer and fireman and to get their signatures that they were comptent to 
fire a locomotive engine; we require the signatures of four engineers before we 
assign them to their duty. Perhaps half or two-thirds of the number never went 
over the division — rolled up their little "Communion" and dropped off, saying, 
"I am going back." 

Speaking of the laborious work that the firemen have to do today on the heavy 
power, hauling heavy trains, I believe that we must sooner or later resort to 
something else besides hand firing.— G. W. O'Neill (N. Y. O. & W.), Trav. 
Engrs. Ass'n; Pro. 1911, p. 133. 
Something Must be Done. 

. . . I was talking to our superintendent of motive power a few days ago. 
I told him that I believed the time was here when we would have to get some- 
thing to put on the engine outside of flesh and blood. He said : "I am sending 
a man over the country now to ride engines that are equipped with stokers, and 
when we find something that will meet the requirements we will gladly spend the 
company's money to put them on." . . . — C. W. Irving, N. & W. Ry., Travel- 
ing Engineers' Ass'n Pro. 1911, p. 287. 
Imposible for One]Fireman to Do. 

. . . the locomotives of today, when working to their full capacity, will burn 
a quantity of fuel which it is impossible for a fireman to handle continuously 
over an entire division by hand-firing, and the demand is for locomotives of still 
greater capacity. . . . — C. F. Street, Vice-President, Locomotive Stoker Com- 
pany, Amer. Ry. M. M. Ass'n Pro. 1911, p. 76. 
Firemen Toil Like Beasts. 

Locomotive firemen are physically the hardest worked men in railway service. 
Trackmen have to bear the heat and burden of the day, but they do not labor 
under the constant spur that calls for the steam being continually kept close to 
the blow-off point no matter how fast the 'cylinders may be draining the boiler 
of its power supply. 

We believe the day will come when mechanical engineers will look back with 
amazement upon the conditions which required firemen to toil like beasts of bur- 
den maintaining steam, when power was at hand to perform the work mechani- 
cally. . . . — Railway and Locomotive Engineering, November, 1911, p. 468. 
Something Will Have to Be Done. 

I believe we have all agreed that the large engines and heavy tonnage trains 
have reached the limit of human endurance. I believe that is true, and if we 
continue to increase the size of engines and the tonnage of trains, something will 
have to be done to reduce the amount of labor on the part of the fireman. It 
makes no difference whether we have to resort to a stoker, or to a different kind 
of fire-door, or to a brick arch or something else, but as a matter of fact, gentle- 
men, something will have to be done. . . . 

I have seen my firemen in a great many cases with the overalls in rags, simply 
burned off by the heat from the fire-boxes with the swing door. In the summer 
time when the thermometer in my country will register from ninety to one hun- 
dred degrees in the shade, it is nearly beyond human endurance to open one of 
the big furnace doors and stir the fire. . . . 

The last year or two we would have a great number of firemen, play out at 
one point on my division and had to be relieved on the road, due to the heat, etc. 
. , . — H. F. Henson, N. & W., Trav. Engrs. Ass'n Pro. 1911, p. 312. 



50 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

Too Much for One Man. 

... As the greater sustained tractive efforts of the large engine equipped 
with superheaters and brick arches is gradually taken advantage of. its fuel con- 
sumption per hour will increase, though decreasing on the ton-mile hasis. with 
the eventual result of possibly making necessary to some extent means, in addi- 
tion to those already provided, to supply fuel to the engine up to its maximum 
requirements. When this condition develops, as it is bound to, by traffic increases, 
careful investigation of tonnage ratings, and the raising to a higher standard the 
efficiency of operation, the demand for a perfected type of mechanical stoker 
will become more acute than ever. . . . —Railway Age Gazette, June 18, 
1912, p. 1463. 
Fireman Works Nearly All the Time. 

. . . When the fireman is at work, and that is nearly all the time when the 
wheels are turning, he stands stooped over, shoveling in the fuel, or raking the 
coals in the fire-box; his view ahead is obstructed, and he cannot see the danger 
that may be dashing upon him. . . . 

In the old days the fireman on "woodburners" had a hard time of it, and cer- 
tainly earned the small money he received for his services; but he had a sinecure 
compared with the man in blue overalls and jumper who "stokes up" one of the 
huge "moguls" of the present day. 

These engines haul freight and eat up coal as if it were greased paper. The 
fireman is at work continuously, and about the only time he has to rest is when 
his train "takes a siding" to let a more aristocratic passenger train pass. — Rail- 
way and Locomotive Engineering, March, 1912, p. 98. 
Enough Coal for One Fireman. 

. . . We know time and again men who are firing 3,000 pounds of coal per 
hour, for a six or eight-hour run on the road, and they are doing all we can 
reasonably expect for a single fireman. — Railway and Locomotive Engineering. 
July, 1912, pp. 258-9. 
Solve the Problem With Two Men. 

What is the limit of the capacity of the average fireman in pounds of coal per 
hour on trips covering eight to ten hours? C. D. Young states between 4.000 
to 5,000. Mr. Crawford recommended about 3,500 and the statements of other 
members seem to indicate a general idea that it should not be over 4.000. This 
conveyed the impression that all locomotives in regular road service that burn over 
this amount should be equipped with stokers. . . . 

A point of far-reaching importance- was advanced by Mr. Baker and received 
the attention of several other speakers. This is the fact that the quality of the 
engineers in the near future depends very largely on the quality of the firemen 
now being employed. If the work of firing prohibits a man of ordinary strength 
and intelligence undertaking it, it will have a serious result on the standing and 
class of the future engineers. If the stoker will encourage intelligent men to 
enter the ranks of firemen that alone will justify its general adoption. — Am. Ry, 
M. M. Ass n Pro., 1912, Railway Age Gazette, June 18, 1912, p. 1456. 
Beyond Human Endurance. 

. . . It was almost beyond human endurance for a fireman to work on a 
locomotive, particularly a freight locomotive, and maintain the maximum pressure 
on a division of 150 miles. The object of all railways at the present time is to 
build locomotives with the greatest capacity possible and in order to get good 
efficiency from these locomotives I believe we must have a mechanical stoker. 
We are going to have men in the future for firemen that will give us engineers 
such as we should have. We must lessen the burden of the fireman. I certainly 
believe that the time is not far distant when all roads, particularly trunk lines, 
where they have to haul heavy tonnage, will be obliged to equip their locomotives 
with stokers in order to get full efficiency from them. — C. H. Hogan, Ass't S. M. 
P., N. Y. C. & H. R.. Am. Ry. M. M. Ass'n Pro. 1912. Railway Age Gazette, 
June 18, 1912, p. 1466. 
Beyond the Capacity of Any Man. 

. . . This man was firing a consolidation locomotive of not very large ca- 
pacity as locomotives are rated today. He said that he had been firing this class 



LABOR PERFORMED BY FIREMEN . 51 

of locomotive for six years, and had never been able to put in a full month's 
work . . . He said there was not a fireman on any locomotive of this class 
who Avould work continuously for a full month, as they must all lay off occasionally 
to rest up. This man would shovel not more than 2,500 or 3,000 pounds of coal 
per hour. . . . 

On the Southern Pacific Railway, I know for a fact that there are engines 
using 150 gallons of water per minute; that calls for the evaporation of an im- 
mense quantity of water. You have to look forward to getting your coal-burning 
locomotives up to the capacity of oil-burning locomotives, and if that is the case, 
it is far beyond the capacity of any man to fire them. . . . — H. A. Gillis, Am. 
Ry. M. M. Ass'n Pro. 1912, pp. 84-85. 
Impossible for One Fireman. 

. . . With the modern locomotive where the heating surface is very large, 
and with a normal ratio of heating surface to grate surface, it is impossible for 
the average fireman to hand-fire such a locomotive up to the maximum rate of 
evaporation ; especially is this so if the fuel is not of high thermal value. In such 
a case the limit on the output of power is found not in the proportions of the 
locomotive, but in the strength and ability of the fireman. . . . — H. A. Hous- 
ton (Rock Island Lines, Chicago, 111.), Ry. Age Gazette, September 12, 1913, pp. 
455-57. 
Locomotives Have to Be Double-Crewed. 

. . . The increased tractive power necessary to haul the enormous trains 
over the ruling grades has resulted in the development of designs which a few 
years ago would have been regarded as "freaks" but which today are officially 
performing the work for which they were originated, and are no longer regarded 
as ''freaks" or "experiments,"' but have entered the ranks of the regular loco- 
motive power. . . . 
Too Great for Human Muscle and Endurance. 

. . . Locomotives have been increasing in power every year until the question 
of firing the huge boilers to maintain the required pressure of steam has become 
too great for human muscle and endurance. . . . — Railway and Locomotive 
Engineering, August, 1913, p. 282. 
"Human Equation" Fails. 

. . . "The advance in the weight of locomotives in this period has been 
phenomenal, and even though we thought that we had reached a fair size of loco- 
motive — or a really large size — these locomotives do not prove quite so effective 
as_ their size should have made them. It was apparent to us that the reason for 
this is that we are not able to work the boilers at what they should do on account 
of the human equation — the human equation being the fireman. . . ." — From 
Paper in Journal of Franklin Institute by C. D. Young, Engineer of Tests, Perm. 
R. R., Railway World, August, 1914, pp. 650-651. 
How "Advance Practice" Affects Firemen. 

The enormous amount of coal consumed by some locomotives justifies the ef- 
forts being made to reduce the toil of firemen by introducing mechanical stokers. 
An able-bodied man shoveling coal out of cars is reputed to be doing fair work 
when he moves one ton or 2,000 pounds per hour, but advance practice requires 
a fireman to handle four or five times the quantity handled by the laborer. . . . 
—Railway and Locomotive Engineering, May, 1914, p. 178. 
Human Endurance Has Been Reached. 

. . . the limit of human endurance in shovel firing has surely been reached. 
. . . — Railway and Locomotive Engineering, May, 1914, pp. 161-63. 

WHAT MR.";CLARK?SAYS T OFrAf FERE MAN' S T LAB OR AND 
DUTIES. 

We earnestly request that the statement presented by Mr. Howard 
on page 481 of the Report of the Eight-hour Commission be compared 
with the following statements of Mr. Clark, in the same report: 

The latter (the fireman) is in this respect the hardest worked man in train 
service. His direct responsibility is comparatively light, though he must watch 
signals from the left side of the cab and must read and understand train orders. 
A very few large locomotives of recent construction have mechanical stokers, but 



52 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

they form an inappreciable fraction of the motive power in use on American 
railways. A considerably larger part of the engines running in the Southwest 
and on the Pacific coast burn oil fuel, and in such cases the physical labor of the 
fireman is comparatively light. In suburban and mountain service, especially 
where there are long tunnels, electric power — which is cleanest and easiest of all 
for the engine crew — is being introduced; but this change is still in ils infancy. 
Therefore the typical fireman is a coal shoveler. The amount of coal be must 
put into the fire-box in a given time varies with the size and construction of the 
locomotive, the class of service in which it is engaged, the weight and speed "i 
the train, the quality of fuel, the grade of the road, weather conditions, and other 
factors, among which must be reckoned the skill of the fireman himself. Taking 
the average of all locomotives upon a representative American railway in 1916. 
every switch engine burned 135 pounds of coal for each mile it ran, each pas- 
senger engine 105 pounds, and each freight engine 229 pounds. In covering a 
division of 100 miles the fireman of a freight locomotive would have to shovel 
more than 11 tons of coal through a low fire-box door, stooping and swinging 
well back to spread the fuel or to place it on thin places in the fire, and opening 
and closing the door for every scoopful. He performs this labor standing on the 
unsteady deck of a locomotive, where an inexperienced man might have difficulty 
in balancing himself without support. Among other duties of a physical charac- 
ter he must wet down the coal, break up the large lumps, pull the coal forward 
from the back of the tank or tender box — which sometimes amounts to double 
handling nearly half the fuel burned — shake the grates, and if the coal clinkers 
badly he must sometimes clean his fires in the course of the run. He takes on 
coal and water, attends to other engine supplies, watches the steam gauge and 
the road signals on his side of the cab, and assists the engineer in minor phases 
of engine operation. 

Besides being laborious these duties are sometimes attended by severe physical 
hardships. The heat thrown out by the fire-boxes of the extremely large loco- 
motives now coming into use is intense, especially when a long freight is barely 
moving up a heavy grade, devouring fuel as fast as 'it can be piled upon the fire, 
and making practically no breeze through the cab by its own motion. Firemen 
on runs of this kind sometimes have to protect themselves with leather aprons 
to keep the heat from igniting their clothing. When we add to these conditions 
an outside temperature of 100° or more, such as not infrequently occurs in the 
southern and prairie States during the summer, a situation is reached that taxes 
the limits of physical endurance. At such times heat prostrations become frequent- 
as railway men say, the firemen "burn out" or "the monkeys get them." They suffer 
undue strain when a badly clinkered fire has to be cleaned in the middle of a heavy 
run, for this is rated exceptionally exhausting labor. Firemen are also exposed to 
more or less suffering from smoke'and from gases thrown back from the fire box in 
passing through long tunnels or snowsheds, especially where more than one locomotive 
is attached to a train. They sometimes lose- consciousness and^even die under these 
conditions. 

It is a matter of controversy between railway employers and firemen whether 
the labors and hardships of the latter are increasing or diminishing. On the one 
hand, much larger engines are now employed than formerly, and the tonnage of 
trains is constantly growing— two conditions that add to a fireman's burdens. < )n 
the other hand, important mechanical improvements have lightened the work of 
stoking, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen has secured 
new working rules in its schedules with many companies that relieve its members 
of some of their former labor. Such rules are those providing that men shall 
be stationed at intermediate points on a division to clean fires, or to pull down 
coal to the front of the tender tank, and that helper or relay firemen shall be 
furnished on exceptionally long or difficult runs. However, new mechanical 
devices have contributed more than these rules to alleviating the fireman's condi- 
tion. Oil-burning locomotives have made possible firing heavy trains through the 
southwestern deserts, where the mercury reaches 120° or more in the shade and 
the temperature of the breezes through the cab window almost rivals the blasl 
from the fire-box door. Brick arches and superheaters, by causing the gases in 
the fire-box to be consumed more completely, and by utilizing a larger fraction 
of the heat generated for steam production, have lessened the amount of fuel 



laborTperformed by firemen 53 

employed to pull a given weight of train. Fire grates are now shaken by power, 
and air doors enable the fireman, by a mere pressure of his foot, to throw open 
the fire-box to admit coal, where formerly he had to stoop over and pull the 
door open by a chain. Coal pullers automatically shift the coal forward in the 
tender tank to a point within reach of the fireman. Mechanical stokers feed the 
coal from the tender into the fire by a conveyor and blast contrivance, so that 
the fireman's stoking duties are reduced largely to attendance upon machinery. 

An analysis of work performed by locomotive firemen in slow-freight service 
during four runs with hand-stoked and mechanical-stoked engines, respectively, 
affords the following illustrative data: The four hand-stoked locomotives ran 
an average of 79 miles, pulling trains having an average weight of 3,149 tons, and 
the firemen were on duty an average of 14 hours and 9 minutes. Of this time 
they spent 7 hours and 4 minutes in actual manual labor, of which 4 hours and 
59 minutes, or more than one-third of the time they were on duty, was devoted 
to shoveling coal into the fire-box. Most of the remaining time used in manual 
labor was employed in hooking and scraping fires, shaking grates, breaking up 
large lumps of coal, shoveling down coal from the rear of the tender, and clean- 
ing fires. 

Each fireman handled with the scoop — directly into the fire box — about 11 l /i 
tons of coal. The time not employed in manual work included rest intervals 
while running and station work and watching signals. 

Similar figures for the four locomotives having mechanical stokers are : Average 
distance traveled, 115 miles; average weight of train hauled, 2,135 tons; time on 
duty, 13 hours and 10 minutes; time devoted to actual manual labor, 4 hours and 5 
minutes, or 19 per cent less of the time on duty than in case of hand-stoked 
engines ; time employed shoveling coal by hand into the fire-box, 1 hour and 24 
minutes, or nearly 25 per cent less of the time on duty than in case of hand- 
stoked engines ; amount of coal burned, 22^4 tons, of which about 2 1 /? tons were 
fired by hand. 

Some objection is still made to mechanical stokers, though they are rapidly 
being improved. Those of an older type are noisy and dirty, keeping the cab full 
of flying coal dust. They are a recent invention, the number in use having risen 
from 6 of all designs in 1910 to 1.418 in 1916. Even the latter number would 
not supply the road service of one of our larger railway systems. 

Firemen occasionally receive assistance from the engineer and the head brake- 
man. The latter may shovel down coal from the rear of the tender — though this 
is forbidden by union rules of some roads — or even fire the engine for a short 
period, especially in exceptionally hot weather when the fireman shows signs of 
playing out. He also lights signal lamps and performs other minor services 
around the engine as a matter of accommodation. Engineers sometimes assist in 
cleaning fires ; indeed, one case was observed where both members of the engine 
crew and two members of the train crew, including the conductor, were engaged 
in this operation. Likewise in very hot weather an engineer will put an exhausted 
fireman at the throttle for a few minutes and fire the locomotive himself. But 
all these interchanges of service are voluntary, and are more or less the excep- 
tion. They are looked upon with disfavor by union officials, as tending to create 
precedents that may be used oppressively by operating officers. 

A fair summary of the present situation of locomotive firemen would seem to 
be that their duties are passing through a transitional phase, where exceptional 
labor and hardships are imposed in some instances, but where the promise exists 
not only of remedying these but of making the general condition of this branch 
of service better than before. The Brotherhoods have thrown their influence 
toward mechanical improvements, in some instances making the adoption of 
labor-saving devices within a stated time an article of their agreement with em- 
ployers. Some of these improvements, such as the brick arch and superheaters, 
are intended primarily to save fuel, which is a most important matter with rail- 
way managers. Exceptional liardship is just now imposed on firemen where train 
tonnage has been increased and large engines have been introduced without these 
improvements, where double-heading has become the rule not only on grades but 
over an entire division, and where the recent coal shortage has forced the adop- 
tion of inferior fuel, that increases the labor of shoveling and clinkers the grates 
so that fires demand frequent cleaning. The deterioration of motive power dur- 
ing the late railroad depression, and the subsequent period of excessive traffic 



54 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

and shortage of skilled mechanics, has also added to the labor of both firemen 
and engineers. 

When crews are reduced every engineer that is demoted displaces two firemen, 
the one that was on his own locomotive and the one whose place lie takes on the 
locomotive of a senior engineer. Consequently it not infrequently occurs that 
every fireman on a division during a slack season has the rank of engineer. This 
not only reduces the pay and seniority of the demoted engineer by the time he 
serves as fireman, but it lengthens the time required for a regular fireman to 
qualify for promotion to engineer. Instances were noted where lire-men had been 
working for a Railroad seven years before coming up for examination, but dur- 
ing those seven years had served in the aggregate less than three years upon 
locomotives. During the rest of the time they had been working for the Rail- 
road in other capacities, or had worked for other employers, or had been idle; 
in any case they had been making no progress in their vocation as enginemen 
during these intervals. 

So wide are the local variations in time required for promotion that no average 
can be ascertained or would be significant. On the Southern Pacific Coast lines, 
firemen have to serve on an average 1 1 J4 years before promotion, the shortest 
period for a division being seven years in Arizona, and the longest 13 years on 
lines running into San Francisco. Usually promotion is slow on divisions temi- 
nating in a large city or a desirable residence town. Of 181 firemen on a south- 
ern division, 40 had been in service more than 10 years. In New England many 
firemen are still waiting for examination as engineers who have been on loco- 
motives since 1902. Conditions in respect to trainmen are very similar. Although 
there are at least two brakemen awaiting promotion to one fireman, the period 
of apprenticeship for a conductor's position does not appear to be materially 
longer than that of an engineer, possibly because the latter requires mechanical 
training and experience in addition to knowledge of train rules. 

Slow promotion is naturally disliked by employees, though the Brotherhoods 
find it necessary in some cases to force their members to stand for examinations 
and to accept advancement. On some roads, refusing examination for promo- 
tion is equivalent to failure and the employee is either dropped from service or 
is placed at the bottom of the seniority list. After a man has spent 10 years or 
more on a particular job he becomes satisfied with it; he loses ambition and finds 
it harder to apply himself to memorizing rules and preparing for formal promo- 
tion tests than a younger man; and unless some stimulus is used he will not 
exert himself to qualify for a higher position. Men with families dread the 
long "starvation period" on the extra board after promotion that will be described 
later. And they fear that their new occupation may force them to accept runs 
that will take them away from home, or will involve more night work, or will 
compel them to change their residence. If a fireman is promoted to engineer 
and then on account of reduction of traffic demoted to fireman, he still assumes 
to exercise an engineer's discretion and in case of accident to a train or loco- 
motive upon which he is serving with a senior engineer he is held to stricter 
accountability than if he were an ordinary fireman. (Page 391.) 



INCREASED WORK AND PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS AND FIREMEN. 

It appears, at the time of the preparation of this brief, that it will be 
impracticable, for lack of time, to present a statement illustrating the 
increased work and productive efficiency of locomotive firemen for all 
the railroads ; therefore, we are submitting for the information of the 
Commission, as a part of Exhibit No. 4, information originally intro- 
duced in the Western Arbitration of Engineers. Firemen and Hostlers, 
1914-15, as Exhibit No. 21, wherein a study was made on 24 representa- 
tive western railroads for the years 1890-1913. 

Although this statement covers a period preceding this hearing four 
years, and although it includes only 24 representative Western railroads, 



APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT 55 

we are sure that the general tendency for all the railroads and for the 
entire period from 1909 up to the present time is clearly set forth in 
this exhibit. 

For the convenience of reference the following table is reproduced: 

PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY TABLE. 

Totals for Twenty-Four Representative Western Railroads. 



Increase 1913 over 1890 
Number Per Cent 



Number of locomotives in service.. 7,598 19,073 11,475 151.03 

Ton miles 18,040,609,498 80,014,895.,441 61,974,285,943 343.53 

Traffic units 21,125,696,678 91,855,089,937 70,729,393,259 334.80 

Freight train miles 107,470,025 181,427,006 73,956,981 68.82 

Revenue train miles 193,589,346 411,192,290 217,602,944 112.40 

Total train miles 212,682,706 387,019,841 174,337,135 81.97 

Ton miles per freight train mile... 157 414 257 163.69 

Coal consumed (tons) 9,030,287 36,611,513 27,581,226 305.43 

Ton miles per $1,000 compensation 

to freight engineers 2,487,549 4,777,725 2,290,176 92.07 

Ton miles per $1,000 compensation 

to freight firemen 4,164,541 7,628,868 3,464,327 83.19 

Traffic units per $1,000 compensa- 
tion to engineers 1,852,593 2,762,898 910,305 49.14 

Traffic units per $1,000 compensa- 
tion to firemen 3,109,373 4,388,639 1,279,266 41.14 



The foregoing shows that for every $1,000 of compensation to 
freight firemen in 1890, 4,164,541 ton miles were produced, while 
during the year 1913, the ton miles produced had increased to 
7,628,868, an increase of 83.19 per cent for every $1,000 paid to 
firemen. 

This means that locomotive firemen shoveled the coal to make the 
steam, that produced 83.19 per cent more ton miles than their wages were 
increased, during the same period. 



FIREMEN'S APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AND 
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS. 

In Exhibit No. 4 will be found information, originally introduced in the 
Western Arbitration of Engineers, Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-15, as Ex- 
hibit No. 47 that deals at length with the Railroads' requirements of ap- 
plicants for position of locomotive fireman, and the physical examina- 
tions exacted of such applicants before being accepted for employment. 
The general public does not realize, and would hardly believe that rail- 
roads have gone to this extreme in selecting material for so poorly a 
paid employe as a locomotive fireman. 

But it demonstrates that when selecting men for firing service rail- 
way officials do not have in mind such statements as appear on page 
481 of the Report of the Eight Hour Commission. 

Taken in connection with the testimony submitted in the Western Ar- 
bitration of Engineers, Firemen and Hostlers of 1914-1915, this Commis- 
sion will learn that when selecting firemen for the service railway offi- 
cials have great regard for the physical and mental requirements inci- 
dental to the work of a locomotive fireman. 



56 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

THE EFFECT OF THE EIGHT HOUR LAW UPON WAGES 
AND HOURS 

On page 13 of the report of the Eight Hour Commission, we find a 
table entitled "Compensation Under Eight-hour Law and Under 1916 
Schedules, by Districts, So Far As Reported: Month of January, 1917." 
The footings for this table show that the estimated increases in compen- 
sation are as follows : 

Passenger Service 2.730 per cent 

Freight Service 15.028 

Yard Service 24.590 

It will be noted that" this is an estimate, based on reports filed by the 
Railroads, for compensation "under eight-hour law for the month of 
January, 1917," at a time that the railroads had refused to apply the 
eight-hour law and had brought numerous suits against the government 
to prevent its enforcement. In commenting upon this statement the Com- 
mission says : 

"To what extent this change will be permanent we do not know, but a reduc- 
tion in hours means to the men that they do not get the wage increase indicated 
above, and in some cases it means a considerable decrease, as where men for- 
merly working 12 hours now work 8 hours for the former 10 hours' pay." 

The fact remains that some of the railroads did change the work- 
ing conditions materially in yard service, as soon as they began to 
put the Eight Hour Law into effect, and any computation of increased 
compensation under the Eight HourftLaw must be erroneous when 
based upon January, 1917. 

Unfortunately, many will read the table without reading the text and. 
therefore, reach the conclusion that the percentage shown in the table 
represents the percentage of increase in compensation because of the ap- 
plication of the Eight Hour Law. 

So far as the cost to the Railroads of the application of the Eight Hour 
Law, there is no question but what it will cost the Railroads additional 
money, but not so much as the railroad "statisticians" indicate. 

For instance, where two switch engines have worked 10 hours a day 
in order to do the work in one yard, it is possible, under the application 
of the Eight Hour Law, to do this same work without any additional cost, 
for where railroads have been required to pay for two shifts of ten hours 
each they have kept the crews on duty for ten hours even though there 
were but eight hours work for them. 

If the eight-hour law has been applied by any railroad in a manner 
that it has resulted only in a wage increase instead of the shortening of 
periods of service of employes, it probably was thus applied to prove the 
contentions of the Railroad that railroad employes "did not want an eight- 
hour day — they want only a wage increase." 

One of the largest lines in the East did reduce the hours in yard serv- 
ice to eight hours per day. with no increase in pay. A large proportion 
of Western roads have reduced hostlers to an eight-hour day with 16f 
per cent reduction in pay. 



HAZARD OF FIREMEN 's OCCUPATION 57 

Let us go back 40 years, and take a carpenter working 12 hours a day 
who demanded an eight-hour day with time and one-half for overtime. 
Let us presume he received $3.20 per day of 12 hours. 

For 12 hours work the increase in expense to the Building Contractor 
would be: 

For eight hours work $3.20 

For four hours overtime 2.40 



An increase of 75 percent. $5.60 

Yet we now find carpenters receiving $6.00 for 8 hours work and earn- 
ing no overtime. 

We sincerely hope that, regardless of the cost, railway employes will 
soon be as fortunate as the carpenters and employes in other industries 
have been. 

In commenting upon the uncertainty of what would be the effect in 
increased wages of the application of the eight-hour law when Railroads 
limit the hours of employment to eight, whenever practicable, we find 
in the Report of the Eight Hour Commission, the following: 

To what extent this change will be permanent we do not know, but a 
reduction in hours means to the men that they do not get the wage increase 
indicated above, and in some cases it means a considerable decrease, as 
where men formerly working 12 hours now work 8 hours for the former 
10 hours' pay. (Page 13.) , * *jfjj 

A discussion of railway wages does not fall within the province of this report. 
In no group of employments are average wage statistics more deceptive than in 
describing the earnings of train operatives. Not only is the range between highest 
and lowest earnings unusually wide, but daily, weekly, or even monthly earnings 
are a very unsafe index to an employee's annual income. Furthermore, the rela- 
tion of nominal income to real income, after deducting what might be called occu- 
pational expenses, such as those occasioned by detention away from home, vary 
greatly in different branches of railway service. Even the relation of earnings 
to time reported off duty is not always certain. (Page 393.) 

No account is taken of the actual service and compensation for the cor- 
responding period in 1916. Consequently, where there has been a reduction 
in the hours of labor per man per day, these percentages, as explained above 
on page 13, may indicate neither the change in the total labor cost to the 
carrier nor the change in the total wages received by the individual employe. 
(Page 16.) 



HAZARD OF THE OCCUPATION OF A LOCOMOTIVE 
FIREMAN 

We have introduced for the information of the Commission in 
Exhibit No. 4, originally presented in the Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, Western Railroads, 1914-1915, as Exhibits 42, 
44, 45 and 46 respectively. 

As indicative of the valuable information found in original Exhibit 
No. 42, prepared and introduced by Mr. A. H. Hawley, General Secre- 
tary and Treasurer of this Brotherhood, formerly introduced as Exhibit 
No. 42, the following is reproduced from the first page of same: 



58 



ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 



This statement has been prepared for the purpose of showing the high 
percentage of deaths and disabilities of members of the Brotherhood 
of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, directly resulting from Rail- 
road Accidents. 

Approximately 47 per cent of all Deaths of Members are from Railroad 
Accidents, and it is believed that in no other occupation will the record 
show the hazard of employment so great. 

Of 1,224 Disabilities reported herein, including those resulting from 
Bright's Disease of the Kidneys, Consumption of the Lungs, Locomotor 
Ataxia, Paralysis, Blindness and Amputation of Hand or Foot, 691 
resulted from Blindness and Amputation. 

During the year 1913, of 30 Amputations, 24 were the results of 
Railroad Accidents, and of 20 cases of Blindness, 10 resulted from Rail- 
road Accidents. ***** 

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM DISEASE, DEATHS 
FROM RAILROAD ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS FROM OTHER CAUSES FOR WHICH THE 
ORGANIZATION PAID CLAIMS FROM JANUARY 1st, 1904, TO DECEMBER 31st, 1913. 



Year. 


Disease. 


Railroad 
Accidents. 


Other 
Causes. ® 


All Causes. 


1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 


182 
203 
196 
260 
199 

195 
227 
250 
251 
295 


236 
260 
234 
287 
195 

182 
263 
214 
253 

243 


35 
33 
31 
34 
42 

34 
29 
58 
54 
51 


453 
496 
461 
581 
436 

411 
519 

522 
558 
589 


1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 



® Includes such as suicides, drowned, murdered, accidents other than railroad accidents, etc. 

It will be noted from the foregoing table that totals are shown as 
follows : 

Disease 2258 

Railroad Accidents 2367 

Other Causes 401 

All Causes 5026 

In Exhibit No. 4 will be found information that was prepared and 
introduced as Exhibit No. 44 in Western Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-1915, by Mr. H. J. Harris, formerly statis- 
tical expert of the Department of Commerce and Labor, who treats 
of the occupational hazard of locomotive firemen. I quote from the 
investigation made by Mr. Harris, as follows: 

There is general agreement that the occupation of locomotive fireman is "extra 
hazardous." 

Two special studies of mortality conducted by the Actuarial Society of America 
show that the occupation of locomotive fireman has a higher death rate than the 
rate for engineer, express messenger, mail clerk, passenger trainman, passenger 
conductor, and track supervisor. 

As compared with other hazardous occupations, locomotive firemen have a 
mortality rate which is about the same as that for anthracite miners, but is higher 
than the rate for potters, for stone-cutters, for structural iron workers, for bridge 
builders, etc. 



HA7ARD OF FIREMEN'S OCCUPATION 59 

Fatal accidents cause about 50 per cent of the deaths of the members of the 
firemen's insurance organization. Fatal accidents occur more frequently to firemen 
than to- any other occupation included in the Medico-Actuarial Investigation ; they 
were, for instance, distinctly more frequent than for miners of any kind, or for 
structural iron workers. 

The standard rating of accident insurance companies groups locomotive firemen 
in the most dangerous class for which they usually accept insurance. 

The fireman seems to be more exposed to injuries like strains and sprains 
(which cause greater loss of time than other injuries) than any other group of 
railway employees. 

The fireman's injuries affect all parts of his body, and special protection against 
them seems impossible. Fractured bones are a conspicuous feature of his in- 
juries. 

Loss and impairment of eyesight and liability to nervous disease are special 
hazards of the firemen's occupation. 

In Exhibit No. 4 will be found information that was prepared and 
introduced as Exhibit No. 45, in Western Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-1915, by Dr. W. B. Cory, General Medical 
Examiner of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, 
who quotes the highest authorities on the "hazard connected with the 
vocation of locomotive firemen and engineers." It is not practicable 
to reproduce here a summary of what is said therein, but a reading of this 
exhibit will demonstrate that not only does the experience of this Brother- 
hood demonstrate that "approximately 47 per cent of all deaths of mem- 
bers are from railroad accidents," but sets forth the opinion of learned 
men upon the effect of light and heat (of the fire box) on eyesight and the 
effect of over-exertion upon the human system. Particular attention is 
called to the tabular matter found in Dr. Cory's statement showing 
the great number of employees who become blind while following 
occupation of a locomotive fireman. 

In Exhibit No. 4 will be found information that was prepared and 
introduced as Exhibit No. 46, in Western Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-1915, by Dr. W. B. Cory, General Medical 
Examiner of this Brotherhood, and is a comparison of rates and insur- 
ance benefits, and gives valuable information as to the degree of risk 
or hazard connected with the occupation of locomotive firemen and 
engineers for several accident insurance associations. 

It will be noted that usually each of these associations consider that 
a locomotive fireman is among the most hazardous of all insurance 
risks. 



60 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

HOSTLERS SHOULD BE SKILLED EMPLOYES. 

Except on those railroads that seemingly have adopted a policy to 
employ only the cheapest of unskilled labor in the care-taking of their 
locomotives, the work of a locomotive hostler has always been assigned 
to a skilled man. Many of the railroads established rigid rules that no 
man would be entrusted with the hostling of engines unless he had three 
years experience as a locomotive fireman or had served in the capacity 
of a locomotive engineer. 

The reasons for these precautions in the selection of men for hostlers 
is apparent when it is learned that to the hostler is entrusted the care of 
the locomotive when not in road service, except when placed in shops 
for repairs or temporarily withdrawn from the service. He assumes 
charge of the engine just as the engineer leaves it. On many roads he 
is required to take the engine at the passenger station and run it to the 
roundhouse tracks. On other roads a special track is designated upon 
which the road crews place their engines when their period of ser\ ice 
has been completed. Immediately upon the ending of the engineer's 
responsibility for the care of the locomotive, the hostler's responsibility 
begins. 

Locomotive engineers have an especial interest in the qualifications 
of men employed as hostlers. Their jobs, and their lives largely depend 
upon the proper care of the locomotives while not under their own 
personal supervision. 

"Low water" is a direct cause of "scorched crown sheets" and 
scorched crown sheets have been the direct cause of many boiler explo- 
sions. So grave is the danger of damaged crown sheets by low water 
while engines are in the keeping of locomotive hostlers, usually, one of 
the first acts of a careful engineer when taking charge of his engine is 
to look at the crown sheet. An incompetent hostler is a danger to 
engineers and firemen. 

A hostler should be expert in the handling of locomotives, in running 
them across turn-tables, in fact in the operation of locomotives under 
most adverse conditions. 

That some railway officials are content to employ a class of labor ,i> 
locomotive hostlers that they would not permit to operate their person- 
ally owned automobiles, indicates the difference between the "official" 
attitude and the "personal" attitude of some men. Damage to Rail- 
road property is "everybody's business" while "damage to my auto- 
mobile is paid for out of my pocket." 

As indicative of the duties of locomotive hostlers, the following is 
reproduced from the proceedings of the Western Arbitration of Engi- 
neers, Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-15. The witness was paid 25 cents 
per hour for the services described, and there is no information to the 
contrary that he is paid more than that at the present time, if he i> yd 
employed in his former position. 

Mr. Carter: Will you describe the duties of yourself, as a locomotive hostler? 

Mr. Holloway : Yes, sir. My duties are to report at 6 o'clock in the morning; 
but on account of the first train arriving at Western avenue 1 report at 6:15. 
Then, it is my place to go to the office and see what switch engines arc left in the 
house to go out and work for the day crews. Then, watch the hoard and so ii 






HOSTLERS SHOULD BE SKILLED 61 

there are any extra engines or anything pertaining to my business that is to go 
out and see that that is done. Then go around the house and find out what 
engines are to be put in the shop, find out what engines are fired up, see that they 
are in proper condition. Then, all during the day, it is my place to be engine 
despatcher, taking all engines out, that is, whether passenger or extra time freight 
and switch engines, or whatever the case may be. In the morning I bring the 
engines off the north pit and help on the switch engines on the south pit in the 
afternoon, and all the rest of the day, while I am not taking in and out engines 
I have to move the engines for the machinists whether they be under steam or 
not. If those engines should happen to be dead, it is necessary to get a live 
engine and go on the table and put it behind them and spot them; what they call 
spotting, for machinists, which is putting them in a position that the work can 
be got at, which means that I must not be out of sight all the time. I must be 
on hand where I can be called at any minute that I am wanted. Then, again, it 
is necessary to go out on the main line, up in the yard any place, any time, to get 
hold of a road engine, where the road crews' sixteen hours are up. 

Mr. Carter: You say you go out on the main line sometimes? 

Mr. Holloway : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: How long have you been employed in this capacity? 

Mr. Holloway: 'Twelve years and two months. 

Mr. Carter: In this same position? 

Mr. Holloway: Same position. 

Mr. Carter: Have you other hostlers employed with you? 

Mr. Holloway : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : Explain the duties of each of these hostlers so employed, so as to 
show the Board what the hostlers' duties are. 

Mr. Holloway : We have what we call the "diamond hostler," the coal chute 
hostler. His duties are to take the engine from the engine crew, from the road 
crew or switch engine crew, on arrival at the coal chutes ; see that they are in 
proper condition and keep them in proper condition until such time as he hands 
these engines over to the man on the pit for the fire to be knocked. 

In the meantime, he must blow out all engines, that is, blow a certain per cent 
of the water out for various reasons, get the mud out of the boiler. Then he takes 
sand and water, and takes them on whichever pit would be most convenient to 
put the engine over. 

Then we have another hostler that helps bring engines in in the afternoon, and 
in the morning, and all day for that matter, he knocks fires on what we call the 
North Pit. iWe have two pits, the North and South Pit. He knocks fires all day. 
and in the afternoon he helps to bring in engines off that pit. 

Then we have another hostler what we call the South Pit hostler. He knocks 
fires in the morning on the South Pit; in the afternoon he takes one section of 
the roundhouse to fire up, that is, fires up the engine in the third section of the 
roundhouse. That concludes the work, as far as I know, with the exception that 
the coal chute hostler is invariably called to switch sand cars, or coal cars, or 
whatever little necessarv details may be wanted done around the yards. (Pro- 
1417-19.) 

DRIVING HOSTLERS OUT OF SERVICE. 

Because of great complaint received from various members, a special 
investigation was made of the conditions under which hostlers have 
been recently employed at a certain railroad terminal. This investi- 
gation has produced the following information: 

Point A. — Prior to April 1917, this railroad required hostlers to pass examinations 
before they were permitted to move engines, and a sufficient number of qualified hostlers 
were employed at the different engine houses for this service. Very seldom were others 
permitted to move engines. Subsequent to this date it appears to have become a 
general practice for anyone to assist in the hostling work. Lamp boys, machinists and 
machinsts' helpers, boilermakers and their helpers, gang leaders and assistant engine- 
house foremen, began to perform this character of work. 



62 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

Under this practice an accident occurred which damaged two locomotives, the man 
handling the engine having been in the service only two months. A tank was damaged 
and an engine put out of service while being handled by a boilermaker. 

December 4, 1917. — A Boiler Inspector, running a practically new engine, ran into 
another engine. One engine out of service December 4th to December 20, 1917. 
The other engine sent to general shops for repairs. 

Point B. April 26, 1917. — Shop hand of two months experience, moving engine, 
ran into another engine. Front end of both engines damaged. Do not know how long 
they were held out of service. 

April 28, 1917. — Bo'lermaker moving engine ran into tank of another engine. Tank 
had to be replaced before the engine could be put on a run. 

January 15, 1918. — Boilermaker moving engine ran into another engine and knocked 
down bumping block. Both engines held out of service. 

Point C. — Six hostlers formerly employed, giving satisfactory service and no causes 
for delay account low water or frozen engines. Latter part of 1916 a labor camp was 
established below the engine-house for Negroes and Mexicans. Soon thereafter the 
white men that assist the hostlers were dismissed for unknown cause and these imported 
laborers were used on the ash-pit. Then it was discovered that they did not need so 
many hostlers and the older hostlers were placed in the coal cars to shovel coal with 
the Negroes and Mexicans. When the eight-hour day went into effect all of the old 
men were placed as hostlers and worked eight hours and the Negroes and Mexicans 
were worked 12 hours. Five out of the six older hostlers quit, and the Negroes and 
Mexicans were immediately used as hostlers without examination and qualification 
for the work, crews at times waiting from one to two hours for engines. In many cases 
the engines are turned out in the same condition in which they were placed on the engine 
track the night of the day before, not even having their fires cleaned. The engineers 
and firemen take the engines out and try to get work done so the industrial plants 
can work. 

December 29, 1917. — Negro acting as hostler derailed engine. No water in boiler 
and fire drawn. Another Negro acting as hostler derailed an engine. Other engines 
without water in boiler and fires knocked out of four engines. 

December 30, 1917. — Three engines frozen up. One engine low in water and fire 
drawn. 

January 14, 1918.— Negro hostler handling engine. Ran away and crashed into 
gondola car which knocked down two other engines on jacks. On another occasion a 
negro hostler left engine standing outside of engine house.it took steam and went through 
the engine house door. 

January 19, 1918. — Negro acting as hostler derailed engine. All drivers off. Another 
negro hostler derailed tank of engine in such a way that the wrecking crew had to be 
called. 

Engineers and firemen, in order to keep traffic moving cleaned fire, loaded coal from 
cars, and did all necessary work to keep the engines from getting tied up. By this 
method they had engine in service from two to four days without going to engine-house . 

About 50 hostlers employed. Twenty-two men were engaged to clean and handle 
engines over the ash pit in storage yard. Seven of these men left the service. Negro 
engine watchman let engines freeze up or let water get low so that the fire had to be 
drawn. No record made, but investigation will bring out this fact. As traffic was 
unable to move, engineers and firemen, also shop hands from other points and 
laborers were employed from a labor contractor and were paid from 45 to 50 cents 
per hour. The engineers and firemen used in this sendee got the rate of their position. 

There are no Negroes employed as hostlers at this point. No low water and no 
frozen engines reported by the men. About ten engines were used to handle the situation . 

It is believed by some employes that such conditions exist at the point 
investigated, and to a certain extent at practically all other points, 
because of a seeming determination on the part of Railroads to relieve 
themselves of the wage requirements of arbitrations. The fact that 
many Railroads refused to negotiate working conditions for hostlers 
during the Eight-Hour Movement leads to the belief that certain rail- 
roads will resort to any extreme to exterminate "union" wages and 
working conditions for hostlers. Other employes express the opinion 
that unless conditions are remedied in the near future a successful 
operation of the railroads by the Government is impossible. 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 63 

THE INCREASED COST OF LIVING. 

As a matter of fact, locomotive firemen and hostlers, in common with 
other wage-earners have not been able at their prevailing rates of pay, in 
face of the unprecedented advances in living costs to maintain their former 
standards of living. They have found a constantly increasing amount 
of their income absorbed by the primary demands of food, fuel and rent, 
and have had a decreasing proportion available for clothing and sundries 
or the comforts of life. This fact has been conclusively demonstrated 
by the results of a cost of living investigation of wage-earners in the 
District of Columbia made in 1916 by the United States Bureau of Labor 
Statistics. If the expenditures of families of certain sizes and income 
groups developed by this investigation are compared with those shown 
by similar families for which data were secured in 1900, it is at once 
seen that the families of 1916 have had to expend a larger proportion of 
their income for the essential commodities of subsistence. 

"Taking the income group in which the families earn $1100 and under 
$1200 per year, it appears that in 1900, families of that amount of in- 
come spent 40.3 per cent for food, while in 1916 they were compelled to 
spend 42.5 per cent of their income for food. The families of 1916, 
presumably because of the increased cost of necessities, such as food, 
had only 9 per cent to spend for clothing as against 13.8 per cent in 
1900, and 21.4 per cent for sundries such as insurance, club dues, amuse- 
ments, in a word, the 'cultural wants,' as against 23 per cent for families 
in 1900. Families in 1917 were compelled to increase their expenditures 
for fuel and lighting to 6.9 per cent of their budget over 5.1 per cent 
in 1900. 

"Similar changes of the ones outlined above for the income class $1100 
and under $1200 per annum are shown in all the other income groups. 
There is clearly evident a reduction in the standard of living in 1916, 
over 1900 for similar income groups. 1 " 

For the purpose of bringing out the real significance of the results 
of recent studies and investigations as to the increased cost of living and 
the minimum income or budgetary requirements of the normal family of 
the wage-earner, the totals called for by the different studies of family 
budgets which have been made in recent years are submitted in com- 
parative form below. 2 Where the budgetary inquiry or statement has 
not been made in complete form, as in the case of the Washington, 
Canadian, or the Public Health Department of New York City state- 
ments, the total has been estimated from the items of food, or food, 
rent and fuel given. This can be done with an approximate degree of 
accuracy for the reason that the ratios of different items to the total 
budgets of families of certain incomes has been well established by 
past investigations. The statement of the result of recent studies as 

a Cost of Living and The War, by W. Jett Lauck, pp. 39-40. 
2 See Appendix A "The Increased Cost of Living." 



(A 



ARGUMENT AND BKIKF 



to the minimum annual budgetary requirements of the wage-earner 
follows: 





Food 


Total 




$607.00 
515.00 
673.00 
660.00 
544 00 
590.00 
640.00 
533.00 
540 00 
492.00 


$1518.00 
1287.00 
1682.00 
1650.00 
1360.00 
1200.00 
1431.00 
1506.00 
1476.00 
980.00 








Minimum Health Diet (Professor M. E. Jaffa) 

Bureau of Municipal Research, Philadelphia 


Seattle Street Railway Arbitration Board 











1 Because of advances in prices, this budget has advanced 
present time. (February, 1918). 



cost to approximately $1200 at the 



From these exhibits, as well as from other facts relating to 
budgetary studies, 1 it is apparent that a budget of family expenditures 
at the present time to cover the minimum of subsistence requires an annual 
wage of at least $1200, while a budget of expenditures to provide for a 
minimum standard of comfort calls for a wage which will yield annual 
earnings of approximately $1500. The Wage Arbitration Board in the 
street railway dispute in Seattle fixed this minimum in December 1917 
at $1505.60 for motormen and conductors in Seattle and Tacoma. The 
cost of living is not unusually high in these cities and, as a matter of 
fact, is lower than in many other localities in the country. This is not 
a local minimum of subsistence and comfort therefore but one which 
should have a general application. 



THE MINIMUM WAGE REQUEST OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN 
AND HOSTLERS. 

Locomotive firemen and hostlers are requesting a minimum rate of 
pay of $3.50 a day. Assuming it were physically possible for a fire- 
man to work every day in the year, including all Sundays and holidays, 
even under these impossible conditions his annual earnings would be 
only $1277.50 at the rate requested, which is more than $200 below the 
minimum of comfort prescribed by recent budgets and approximately 
only the amount called for by the minimum standard of subsistence. 
As a matter of fact, because of the arduousness of his work, a locomotive 
fireman under present conditions does unusually well if he averages 
300 days a year. Under actual railroad operating practice, therefore, 
his annual earnings at the rate requested of $3.50 a day might range 
between a maximum of SHOO to $1200 per annum, which is considerably 
below the income indicated by recent inquiries as the bare minimum 
of subsistence of an average workingman's family. When it is con- 
sidered further that a locomotive fireman, unlike other wage-earners, 
must spend a considerable part of his earnings for meals and lodgings 
away from home, it is apparent that the request for a S3. 50 minimum is 
reasonable to say the least, if not inadequate. It is inadequate for the 
maintenance of a minimum standard of family comfort, and, on this 
basis, should be at least $4.00 a day. 

1 See Appendix A "The Increased Cost of Living." 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 65 

THE INCREASE IN FAMILY LIVING COSTS. 

The rapid rise in retail and wholesale prices during recent years and 
the decline in the purchasing power of the dollar or money wages as 
compared with foodstuffs, fuel, and other primary articles of family 
consumption has been analyzed elsewhere in considerable detail. 1 Unfor- 
tunately there are no series of complete family budgets available over a 
continuous period upon the basis of which accurate analysis might be 
made of the increased cost of maintaining certain standards of living 
at the present time as compared with past years. Some scattered but 
trustworthy data exist, however, for different periods. By way of 
illustration, it was ascertained by the Labor Adjustment Board of the 
Emergency Fleet Corporation after an exhaustive investigation that 
the cost of the family budget of Pacific Coast shipyard workers had 
increased 31 per cent during the 14 months extending from July 1, 
1916, to October 1, 1917. Wage advances were, therefore, awarded by 
the Board to compensate the workers for this deficiency in family in- 
come so that pre-existing standards of living might be maintained. 

After an extensive inquiry the Bureau of Personal Service of the 
Board of Estimate in New York City found in February, 1917, that the 
living costs of an unskilled laborer in New York with a normal family 
of five persons, had advanced 16 2-3 per cent since February 1917 and 
increased rates of compensation were granted in accordance with these 
findings. 

One of the most scientific studies made along these lines was eon- 
ducted under the auspices of the Bankers Trust Company of New 
York at the close of the calendar year 1917. The practical object sought 
was to determine what percentage of increase in annual salary should be 
made to the employes of this institution in order that they might main- 
tain the same standards of living to which they were accustomed prior 
to the year 1916. Extensive studies were made of retail and wholesale 
prices and after price advances had been ascertained they were weighted 
according to the relative importance of the articles as shown by an 
examination of results of budgetary investigations. 

"For the purposes of the committee it was assumed that the increase 
in living cost began to show alarming proportions in July, 1916, and the 
greatest compensation was apportioned to those who had been in the 
service of the company prior to that date, the amounts being propor- 
tionately reduced for lesser terms of employment. Although their in- 
vestigations showed that the increase was slightly more, the committee 
took 80 per cent as a basis on which to make its adjustments and the 
trust company afterward authorized its findings. On this scale tables 
were prepared showing the approximated percentages of compensation 
to salary, and the actual amounts, at various salary bases and for varying 
terms of service, necessary to offset the increased cost of living for the 
six months ended last year. The percentages for those employed prior 
to July 1, 1916, are given here: 



^ee Appendix A, The Increased Cost of Living. 



66 



ARGUMENT AND BRIKF 



Annual salary bases. 


Percentage, 
Inc. 




48.4 
48.8 
49 .2 
49.7 
50.2 
50.9 
50.9 
52.0 
51.8 
51.5 
51.2 
51 
50.8 
50.6 
50.3 
49.3 
48.3 
48.3 
47.5 
47 6 













































*A fixed sum of $575. 

"These percentages were arrived at as follows: Taking the case of 
an employee receiving $2,000 a year salary, it was found by reference to 
the amended Chapin table that he spent 40 per cent of his salary, or 
$800 a year, for food; 18.8 per cent, or $376 a year, for clothing, 
and 23 per cent, or $460 a year, for rent. Figuring an 80 per 
cent increase in the cost of food and clothing, it was assumed 
that this man spent $940.80 additional for these items, and, allowing for 
a 10 per cent increase in rent, added $46 more, a total of $986.80 for tin- 
year, or $493.40 for the last six months of the year, a percentage of 49.34 
of his salary. 1 " 

According to this basis of computation locomotive firemen who have 
been earning $1000 or less per annum should have advances in rates of 
pay ranging from 48.4 to 52 per cent in order to preserve their former 
standards of living. 

The Canadian Department of Labor publishes each month an average 
workingman's family budget showing the weekly cost of staple foods, 
fuel and lighting, and rent. Beginning with the year 1914, the Bureau 
of Labor of the State of Washington has also prepared each April a 
budget showing the weekly and annual cost to a family of five for gro- 
ceries, fresh meat and fish, and fuel. In 1917, as compared with 1914, 
the Canadian budget shows an advance in the cost of living for the items 
enumerated of 27.7 per cent, while the Washington budget, probably 
because of the exclusion of rent, shows an increase of 35.6 per cent. 
This general comparison, together with the advance in the detailed items 
of food, fuel and rent during the past six years, is set forth in the follow- 
ing table: 



From N. Y. Times Annalist. January 28, 1918. 






INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



67 



COMPARISON OF CANADIAN AND WASHINGTON (STATE) WEEKLY BUDGETS 


1911-1917. 


Canadian Department of Labor. 


1911. 


1914. 


1917. 


Per cent 
1917 


increase 
over 


1911. 


1914. 




$ 7.14 
1.78 
4.05 


$ 7.99 
1.90 

4.54 


$11.68 
2.40 
4.36 


63.6 
34.6 

7.7 


46.1 
26.5 

4.1 (Dec) 








$12.97 


$14.44 

$4.57 
2.52 
1.01 


$18.44 

$6.48 
3.39 
1.10 


42.1 


27.7 

41.9 
34.7 
9.2 


Washington Department of Labor. 








Fuel 














$8.10 


$10.97 




35.6 









In 1911, the Canadian budget, which is representative of American 
conditions, according to this basis of calculation, would have cost $751, 
and $1,039 in 1914. In other words, an average family in Canada, 
in 1911, would have required double its income to maintain the same 
standard of living in August, 1917. Assuming that the food and fuel 
cost of the Washington budget was 45 per cent of the whole, the total 
cost of this budget in 1914 would have been $936, or $347.10 less than 
in 1917. 
COST OF LIVING INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR, 1901 

The Bureau of Labor in 1901 conducted an extensive and detailed 
investigation as to the cost of living of families of all classes of wage- 
earners in the United States. The inquiry covered 33 states and in- 
cluded within its scope data for 25,440 families. Families with all 
classes of income were taken, the higher and more important income- 
groups being as follows: 

Income $600 per annum and under $700. 



700 

800 

900 

1000 

1100 

1200 



800. 

900. 
1000. 
1100. 
1200. 



" and over. 

Of the total number of 25,440 families, 2,567 normal families were 
selected for detailed study and analysis. The geographical distribution, 
size, income, and expenditures of these families, were as follows: 

NUMBER OF FAMILIES, AVERAGE SIZE OF FAMILY, AVERAGE INCOME PER FAMILY, 
AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER FAMILY FOR ALL PURPOSES, AND AVERAGE EX- 
PENDITURE PER FAMILY FOR FOOD, BY GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS, 1901. 



Geographical division. 


Families. 


Average 
size of 
family. 


Average 
income 

per 
family. 


Average 
expendi- 
ture per 
family 
for all 
purposes. 


Average 
expendi- 
ture per 
family 
for food. 




1,415 

219 

721 

122 

90 


5.25 
5.30 
5.46 
5.65 
4.69 


$834.83 
762.78 
842.60 
715.46 
891.82 


$778.04 
'00.62 
785.95 
690.11 
751.46 


$338.10 
298.64 
321.60 
292.68 
308.53 












2,567 


5.31 


$827.19 


$768.54 


$326.90 





68 



ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 



That these families had a good standard of living is also clearly shown 
by the following table which gives the average quantities of the principal 
articles of goods consumed per family in 1901. 

AVERAGE QUANTITY PER FAMILY OF CERTAIN PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD 
CONSUMED IN 1901. 



Article. 


Unit. 


United 

States, 

2,567 

families 




lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

doz .... 

qt 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

lb 

gal.... 

lb 

loaf.... 

lb 

bu 


349.7 

48.6 

114.2 

110.5 

77.7 

67.7 

79.9 

85.2 

354.5 

117.1 

16.0 

84.4 

10.6 

46.8 

268.5 

3.6 

680.8 

252.7 

25.1 

14.7 
















Milk 






Lard 


Tea... 



















An accurate and satisfactory measure of the increase in the cost of 
living since the years 1911 and 1914 may be obtained by using these 
1900 budgets of the Bureau of Labor as standards of comparison. Whole- 
sale and retail price indices prepared by the United States Bureau of Labor 
Statistics are available to show the increased cost, year by year, of 
various classified items of expenditure which enter into the budgets of 
wage-earning families. These data consist of retail and wholesale 
prices of foodstuffs, fuel, retail prices of gas, wholesale prices of cloths 
and clothing, housefurnishings, lumber and timber products, drugs and 
chemicals and miscellaneous articles. Wholesale price indices are also 
available, such as Bradstreet's, Dun's, Gibson's and the New York Times 
Annalist's, which are compiled by private financial and commercial 
agencies. By applying the relative prices of subsequent years to the 
items of expenditures of various types of families in 1900, the increased 
amount necessary to maintain the standards of living in 1900 may be 
quickly discovered. This method has been adopted in the following 
comparative statements of the increased familv living costs during the 
period 1911-1917. 

The changes in price of the important groups of commodities which 
enter into the make-up of the 1900 budget of the families of represen- 
tative wage-earners have been applied to the items of the budget. 
Changes in wholesale and retail prices of food as published by the Federal 
Bureau of Labor Statistics and other authoritative agencies have been 
applied to the amounts expended for food by the different families 
involved in the 1900 investigation; changes in the wholesale prices of 
cloths and clothing, household furnishings, and fuel and lighting, to the 
corresponding groups in the budgets; and changes in wholesale prices 
of lumber and building material to the rent item, as the former con- 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



69 



stitutes the bulk of the material which make up the cost of house con- 
struction for the wage earner. No relative price statistics are available 
for some of those articles which make up the general item called "sun- 
dries" in budgetary studies or, in other words, those expenditures which 
go for insurance, car fare, vacation, charity, religion, clubs and lodges, 
tobacco, liquors, doctors, drugs, movies, etc. In the case of some of 
these items — practically 10 per cent of the whole — no change or very 
little change in prices has occurred since 1901. In the case of other items, 
relative prices or outlays are available either through price data, com- 
parison with other budgets or other sources of information. 

The percentage increase in prices of the principal items of working- 
men's budgets in 1917 over 1900, 1911, and 1914, as calculated from 
the official reports of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and 
other trustworthy sources, are as follows: 

RELATIVE PRICES FOR GROUPS OF COMMODITIES 1911, 1914 AND 1917, AS COMPARED 

WITH 1900. 





1900 


1911 


1914 


1917 

219 
205 
159 
150 
194 
148 




100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


131 
100 
133 
100 
111 
114 


146 
114 
132 
117 
112 
112 










Sundries 



It will be recalled that the general average expenditures of 2,567 
families for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a detailed analysis 
in 1901, amounted to $769.00. If this average budget be taken in 1900 
and relative increases in the principal items corresponding to price 
changes since 1900 be added, it will be found that the increased cost of 
maintaining this standard was $422.00 or 43 per cent more in 1917 than 
in 1914. The detailed comparison is as follows: 

AVERAGE FOR 2567 FAMILIES. 
Increased cost of specified items of expenditure in the workingmen's budget in 1917, 1914, 1912, 1911 
as compared with the cost of those items in 1900, based on average expenditures of 2567 families as 
ascertained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1901. Washington, 1904. (18th Annual Report.) 



Items of Expenditure. 


1900 
Cost 


Percent 
total 

expendi- 
ture 


1911 


1914 


1917 




$327.00 
100.00 
12.00 
40.00 
108.00 
6.00 
21.00 
9.00 
8.00 
3.00 
26.00 
8.00 
12.00 
12.00 
11.00 
21.00 
45.00 


42.5 

13.0 

1.6 

5.3 

14.0 

.8 

2.7 

1.2 

1.0 

.3 

3.4 

1.0 

1.6 

1.6 

1.4 

2.7 

5.9 


$430.00 
133.00 
12.00 
40,00 
120.00 
6.00 
21.00 
9.00 
8.00 
3.00 
26.00 
8.00 
12.00 
12.00 
11.00 
21.00 
51.00 


$477.00 
132.00 
12.00 
46.00 
121.00 
6.00 
21.00 
9.00 
8.00 
3.00 
30.00 
8.00 
12.00 
12.00 
11.00 
21.00 
50.00 


$716.00 
159.00 
12.00 
82! 00 
210.00 
6.00 
21.00 
9.00 
8.00 
3.00 
39.00 
9.00 
13.00 
14.00 
12.00 
21.00 
67.00 


































Total 


$769.00 


100.0 


$923.00 


$979.00 


$1401.00 



Increase 1917 

over 1911—52% 
over 1914—43% 



ARGUMENT AND BRIKF 



The following comparisons are based on families having incomes 
ranging from $800 to SHOO in 1900, and show the amount necessary 
at the years indicated to maintain the same standard of living within 
certain income classes. 



FAMILIES WITH INCOMES OF $800 AND UNDER $900 

(Expenditures only are shown. Savings constitute the difference to 
make income group.) 





1900 


1911 


1914 


1917 




(806 families) 
$319.00 

105.00 

132.00 

38.00 

177.00 


S418.00 
117.00 
175.00 
38.00 
202.00 


$466.00 
118.00 
174.00 
43.00 
198.00 


$719.00 
211.00 
210.00 
78.00 
262.00 












$771.00 


$950.00 


$999.00 


$1480 00 





Increase 1917 

over 1911—56% 
over 1914 — 49% 



FAMILIES WITH INCOMES OF $900 AND UNDER $1000. 

(Expenditures only are shown. Savings constitute the difference 
to make income group. ) 





1900 


1911 


1914 


1917 




(684 families) 
$326.00 
117.00 
144.00 
40.00 
189.00 


$327.00 
130.00 
192.00 
40.00 
215.00 


$476.00 
131.00 
190.00 
46.00 
212.00 


$714.00 
226.00 
229.00 
82.00 
280.00 












Total 


$816.00 


$904.00 


$1055.00 


$1531.00 



Increase 1917 

over 1911—69% 
over 1914 — 45% 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



71 



FAMILIES WITH INCOMES OF $1000 AND UNDER $1100. 

(Expenditures only are shown. Savings constitute the difference to 
make income group.) 





1900 


1911 


1914 


1917 




(340 families) 
S349.00 
136.00 
158.00 
44.00 
213.00 


S457.00 

151.00 

211.00 

44.00 

243.00 


$509.00 
152.00 
209 . 00 
50 00 
239.00 


(9 months) 

$764.00 

264.00 

251.00 

90.00 

315.00 










Total 


$900.00 


$1106.00 


$1159.00 


S 1684. 00 



Increase 1917 

over 1911—52% 
over 1914—45% 



INCREASES IN COMPENSATION TO MAINTAIN PRE-WAR 
STANDARDS OF LIVING. 

These comparisons clearly show that because of increased prices and 
living costs, locomotive firemen and hostlers should receive an advance 
in rates of pay of at least 45 per cent. The increase in family living 
costs since 1914 of the classes of families representative of firemen and 
hostlers has ranged from 45 to 49 per cent and during this period fire- 
men and hostlers have received practically no increases in compensation. 
The study made by the Bankers Trust Company of New York, as 
already pointed out, also shows that workers with annual incomes of 
$800 to $999 should have an advance in their annual income of at least 
50.2 per cent to preserve the same standards of living which they had 
at the beginning of 1916. It is, therefore, claimed that firemen and 
hostlers should receive an increase of at least 45 per cent in the rates 
of pay now in force not only for the purpose of maintaining pre-war 
standards of living but for the purpose of earning an income which 
recent authoritative budgetary studies show to be absolutely necessary 
for the maintenance of a minimum standard of subsistence for their 
families. 



72 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

COST OF FOOD AND ROOM RENT TO LOCOMOTIVE 

FIREMEN WHILE ABSENT FROM HOME IN THE 

PERFORMANCE OF THEIR DUTIES. 

In practically all industries other than that of the railroads, the em- 
ployer accepts without question the responsibility and justice of allowance 
for expenses of employes while absent from home in the performance of 
services assigned them. Perhaps the most familiar form of this allow- 
ance for maintenance is noticed in the expense accounts of traveling- 
salesmen, railroad officials, government officials and employes and in 
other similar occupations. In wage agreements between the railroads 
and their shop employes they have made provisions by which the expense 
of maintenance while out on the road is at least partially paid by the 
Railroads instead of the employes. 

The general public has little or no conception of the vast expendi- 
tures per month, made by railroad employes in train and engine 
service for food and rooms in which to sleep. 

By referring to Exhibit No. 4, will be found information entitled "In- 
crease in Cost of Meals and Rooms Away from Home, etc.,'' which has 
been presented for the information of this Commission, and which was 
originally presented as Exhibit No. 15 in the Western Arbitration of 
Engineers, Firemen and Hostlers in 1914-15. Table 1 of this exhibit is 
a detailed report of this increased cost by railroads, and by points on these 
railroads, being 913 distinct reports upon the subject. A summary of 
the increased cost in meals shown in table 1 is herewith reproduced, as 
follows : 

NUMBER REPORTING INCREASE PER MEAL 






S cents 17 15 per cent 2 

10 cents 530 20 per cent 5 

15 cents 16 25 per cent 10 

20 cents 7 30 per cent 2 

25 cents 10 40 per cent 6 

5 to 10 cents 65 50 per cent 1 

5 to 15 cents 14 60 per cent 1 

5 to 20 cents 8 100 per cent 1 

5 to 25 cents 3 10 to 20 per cent 1 

10 to 15 cents 87 15 to 25 per cent 1 

10 to 20 cents 21 15 to 30 per cent 1 

10 to 25 cents 47 20 to 30 per cent \ 

10 to 30 cents 1 20 to 50 per cent 1 

12$ to 27J cents 1 25 to 30 per cent 2 

15 to 20 cents 14 30 to 40 per cent 1 

15 to 25 cents 14 • 40 to 50 per cent 2 

20 to 25 cents 4 40 to 100 per cent 1 

10 per cent 1 

Number reporting increase without statement of amount of increase 9 

Number reporting decrease 

Number reporting no change 5 



In connection with the foregoing the summary of the report on in- 
crease in room rent per day and per month is as follows, it being under- 
stood that this question of room rent is in addition to any room or house 
rent paid at the home terminal : 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 
NUMBER REPORTING INCREASE OF ROOM RENT PER DAY. 



73 



5 cents 




12 

is 

80 


10 
10 
10 
10 
15 

15 

25 

50 


to 15 
to 20 
to 25 
to 50 
to 25 

to 50 
to 50 
to 75 
per c( 


cents 


2 


15 cents 


cents 






cents 

cents 


1 

4 






2 






6 






1 


cents 




1 dollar 




1 


cents 

nt 


8 

1 


5 to 10 


cents 


3 

2 









NUMBER REPORTING INCREASE OF ROOM RENT PER WEEK. 




'. 1 


1 dollar 3 1 to 1J dollar 




NUMBER REPORTING INCREASE OF ROOM RENT PER MONTH. 



25 cents 2 

50 cents 4 

75 cents 1 

1 dollar 15 

U dollar 12 



2\ to 5 

3 to 4 

3 to 5 

3 to 6 

3 to 7 



dollars 1 

dollars 2 

dollars 2 

dollars 1 

dollars 1 



2 dollars 
24 dollars 

3 dollars 

4 dollars 

5 dollars 



21 



4 to 5 dollars 

4 to 7 dollars 

5 to 6 dollars 
5 to 7 dollars 
5 per cent 



6 dollars 1 

50 cents to 1 dollar 2 

75 cents to 1 dollar 1 

1 to H dollars 2 

1 to 2 dollars 2 

1 to 21 dollars 1 

1 to 3 dollars 3 

1$ to 2 dollars 3 

U to 24 dollars 1 

2 to 3 dollars 4 

2 to 4 dollars 3 

2 to 5 dollars 4 

2 to 7 dollars 1 



10 per cent 1 

20 per cent 2 

25 per cent 3 

33$ per cent 1 

40 per cent 5 

50 per cent 4 

66§ per cent 1 

1 00 per cent 6 

10 to 20 per cent 1 

20 to 25 per cent 1 

25 to 50 per cent 2 

33£ to 50 per cent 1 

75 to 100 per cent 1 



Number reporting general increase (not specific) 63 

Number reporting no change but time limited 6 

Number reporting decrease 

Number reporting no change 135 

Total number of replies to Question 4 629 



The necessary cost of meals and rooms while away from home ter- 
minal was covered in the testimony of witness DeGuire in the pro- 
ceeding of the Western Arbitration of Engineers, Firemen and Hostlers 
of 1914-15 (pages 7076 to 7081). The testimony of this witness shows 
that the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company have a rule 
whereby machinists, while away from home terminal, are allowed $1.00 
per day of 24' hours for meals and lodgings, with a provision whereby 
"at points where the one dollar ($1) per day will not cover actual ex- 
penses, special consideration will be given each case." The testimony 
indicates that the allowance of $1.00 was based on the principle that 25 



74 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

cents was allowed for each meal and 25 cents for lodging, which was ar- 
bitrarily allowed without evidence showing that the money was thus 
expended, and that in such cases as the $1.00 per day failed to cover 
expense for meals and lodging that a verbal explanation was all that was 
required to bring about the payment of an additional amount to cover 
such expense. 

With reference to the expense incurred by locomotive engineers and 
firemen when away from home, for which they received no allowance, 
the following is reproduced from the record : 

"Mr. Carter: What do you consider would he a usual expense of an engineer 

or fireman, for one round trip? 

"Mr. DeGuire: Well, it would average about $1.75. 

"Mr. Carter: How do you reach that conclusion? 

"Mr. DeGuire: In order to qualify that, I wish to say that I have considered 
a man that was on a run, going away from his home one day, laying over night 
at an outlying point, and returning the following day. I believe that is customary 
on many railroads, to have runs that do that. Now, he would get up in the morn- 
ing for his breakfast at home. He would then go out onto the road and have 
his dinner en route; would have his supper on his arrival at the (away from) 
home terminal. He would then retire, which would necessitate the buying of a 
bed. The next morning, he would have to buy his breakfast. He would have 
his dinner en route home. That would be four meals and a bed, making five, all 
told, and multiplying that by 35 cents, would mean an expenditure of $1.75. 

"Mr. Carter: Why do you say 35 cents instead of 25 cents? 

"Mr. DeGuire : Because there is no place that a man can get a meal today, 
that I know of, that is fit to eat for 25 cents. 

"Mr. Carter: How about beds? Can't you get a hed now for 25 cents? 

"Mr. DeGuire : No, the beds have raised from 25 cents to 35 and 50 cents. 

"Mr. Carter: At $1.75 a round trip, what would it cost him for his meals and 
bed away from home? (per month). What is your estimate? 

"Mr. DeGuire : Approximately $22.50. 

"Mr. Carter : For 12 months in the year that would be how much ? 

"Mr. DeGuire: About $273." (Pro. 7078-7080.) 

Valuable information upon the occasions for extraordinary expense 
incurred by locomotive firemen and engineers will be found in Exhibit 
No. 4 here introduced. This was a limited study of the practice on ten 
western railroads, prepared and presented by witness W. Jett Lauck, 
and known as Exhibit No. 78 in the Western Arbitration of Engineers, 
Firemen and Hostlers, 1914-15. It will be noted that the period usually 
covered is much less than a year and in some instances only a few months. 
This statement was compiled upon personal information received from 
individual engineers and does not even indicate the enormous number 
of times in which all engineers and firemen have been held away from 
their home terminal, at great personal expense for maintenance. It 
does indicate, however, the practice which, we submit, should be given 
great consideration in this inquiry. 

Concerning one of the causes of firemen being away from home 
Mr. Clark says in the report of the Eight-Hour Commission: 

The primary cause nowadays, as it appears, for long delays away from home 
is that the crews in irregular service on arrival at the farther terminal must lay 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 75 

in there and await their turn in the pool to take a train home. In any event, 
the unequal and irregular flow of traffic in the two directions would operate to 
hold the men at times unduly long periods. But the claim is set up that the 
modern way of loading the engines to capacity — the so-called adjusted tonnage 
practice — has aggravated the evil. The men complain that trains might be started 
out at times more frequently in order to get the crews back home; but that even 
when the tonnage is lighter in one direction than the other, they are compelled 
to wait until the heaviest possible trainload for the available engines has been 
accumulated. (Page 333.) 

Train crews, especially upon freights, spend more of their life away from home 
than men in other customary employments. Perhaps they come second to com- 
mercial travelers in this respect. Not only are their hours upon the road longer 
than those of other large groups of workers, but nearly half of their time off duty 
may be spent at foreign terminals. (Page 359.) 



76 ARGUMENT AND BRIEF 

EFFECT ON LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN OF DECREASE IN RAIL- 
ROAD BUSINESS. 

With possibly the exception of railroad brakemen, the employment of 
locomotive firemen is more precarious than any other occupation, in 
that upon a fireman rests the burden of all reductions in the number 
of engineers and firemen required to operate the railroad trains of the 
country. 

In order that the Commission may understand this great economic 
burden that rests upon locomotive firemen, the following statement is 
made : 

Under the seniority system, established by the demands of railroad 
employees and with the consent of railroad employers, the privilege 
of employment increases with the "age" of the men in the service. If 
there were 100 engineers and 100 firemen employed upon a certain 
division of railroad for the purpose of handling normal traffic, and a 
depression in business would necessitate a reduction of this force one- 
half, then under the seniority usages of all railroads, one-half of all 
of the engineers would be "demoted" to the position of fireman, 
and all of the firemen would be "laid off" until business improved, 
and their services were again required. On one division of the Cana- 
dian Pacific Railway since the present war began, not only this condition 
was created, but a small number of engineers were also thrown out of 
employment because they were not "old enough" to be retained in the 
service. 

We submit that in the present inquiry great regard should be had 
for this cause of loss of earnings by locomotive firemen. Working 
people who are thus compelled to bear the entire loss of employment 
affecting both engineers and firemen, certainly deserve a wage not only 
commensurate with their work and responsibility, but with great con- 
sideration for their lack of opportunity to work full time. 

We introduce in Exhibit No. 4 information originally presented 
in the Western Arbitration 1914-1915, for Engineers, Firemen- and 
Hostlers, as Exhibit No. 50. 

This exhibit describes a questionnaire sent to 444 persons with knowl- 
edge upon the subject and gives replies from 351, all of which set forth 
a deplorable condition of many thousands of locomotive firemen during 
the year 1914, because of but a slight depression in railroad business 
at that time. 






INCREASED COST OF LIVING 77 



APPENDIX A 

THE INCREASED COST OF LIVING. 

This discussion of prices and living costs is based primarily upon a 
recent book by W. Jett Lauck entitled "Cost of Living and the War." 
The material contained therein has been freely used and quoted. 

"Either in the case of the individual or of the family outlays for food and 
rent must be made whatever options may be exercised as to other expendi- 
tures. If a family has had a large income and has been in the habit of 
purchasing high-grade articles of food, advances in the cost of food- 
stuffs will probably be met by purchasing less high-priced and more 
medium priced articles. There will be no falling off in the nutritive 
value of the family diet. Families of moderate incomes which had 
been consuming medium and low-price foods, under a period of rising 
prices would purchase less of the medium and more of the low-priced 
foods and also still maintain wholesome standards of nutrition. On the 
other hand, advances in cost of staple food are a positive danger to the 
families of small income. These families under normal conditions are 
forced to buy cheap foods. When there is a general rise in the price 
level, they cannot substitute a cheaper food of the same nutritive value. 
They are compelled to consume cheaper foods, but these articles do not 
contain the food values to which they have been accustomed. Beans 
or eggs cannot be substituted for meat, because these substitutes for 
meat have increased in price even more than meat. The normal diet 
of families with small incomes constitutes, therefore, an irreducible 
minimum so far as nourishment is concerned. Higher prices, without 
a corresponding advance in income, means to them under-nourishment 
and under-development, with greater liability to disease and all the 
other dangers which these conditions imply. 

RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD 1914-1917 

"Under these conditions the recent trend in the retail prices of arti- 
cles of food possesses unusual interest and significance to the wage- 
earner. During the past ten years the United States Bureau of Labor 
has by the co-operation of private dealers secured records from the 
leading cities in all sections of the country as to the retail prices of 
fifteen principal articles of food which enter most prominently into the 
consumption of an average wage-earner's family. The prices thus 
obtained have been averaged for specified cities and then for the country 
as a whole. Under this latter figure have been based computations as 
to relative changes in prices throughout the country during the past 
ten years. In working out these relative prices or index numbers the 
articles of food have been weighted according to their comparative 
importance in the food budgets of an average workingman's family, 
the weights used being those ascertained by an extensive cost of living 
investigation throughout the country made in 1901 by the Bureau of 
Labor. This gives an added significance to the results shown. 



78 



APPENDIX A 



"The advance in the retail prices of all the fifteen selected articles 
of food in 1917, as compared with each of the preceding years' is set 
forth in the following table: 



INCREASE IN RETAIL PRICES OF FOODSTUFFS IN 1916 AS COMPARED WITH EACH 
PRECEDING YEAR DURING THE PERIOD. 1907-1917. 

[From Reports of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistisc.) 



Year. 


Per cent increase 
1917 over each 
preceding year. 


1916 


38.1 
56.1 
53.6 
57. 4 
61.3 
71.4 
69.9 
77.8 
86.4 
92.0 


1915 








1911. . . 


1910 


1909 


1908 


1907. . . 





"It will be at once noted that during the past ten years the rise in 
retail food prices has been 92 points. During the three years preceding 
the outbreak of the European war, or the period 1911-1914, the advance 
was 13 points as contrasted with 67 points during the three years subse- 
quent to the beginning of the war. Expressed in terms of percentages 
general retail prices, according to these index numbers, advanced 71.4 
per cent during the period 1911-1917, and 54.6 per cent during the 
period 1914-1917. In 1917 retail prices were 38.1 per cent higher than 
in 1916 and 56.1 per cent higher than in 1915. 

So far as the fifteen separate articles of which the index numbers 
are composed are concerned, their increase in terms of percentages in 
1917 as contrasted with 1914 and 1911 are shown in the table below: 



INCREASE IN RETAIL PRICES OF FOODSTUFFS. 1917 OVER 1911 AND 1914. 
[Compiled from Reports of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.] 



Articles. 


Per Cent of Increase. 
1917 over 


1911 


1914 




61.8 
78.6 
53.0 

116.8 
92.0 
79.0 

163.1 
60.8 
73.3 
49.9 
47.7 

110.9 

159.3 
35.0 
59.0 


27.9 
32.1 
26.0 
74.8 
72.8 
57.2 
136.3 
42.5 
58.3 
39.6 
39.6 
105.9 
133.3 
62.5 
64.4 












Lard 


Hens 






Milk 






Potatoes 


Total 


71 .4 


53.6 








INCREASED COST OF LIVING 79 

"The largest percentages of increase in prices since 1911 are shown 
in the order named for round steak, ham, bacon, flour, pork chops, corn 
meal and lard. They range from 78.6 per cent in the case of round 
steak to 163.1 per cent in the case of lard. The articles enumerated, 
together with potatoes and sugar, also advanced more during the past 
three years than the other foodstuffs for which information was secured 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The really pronounced rise in retail 
prices of foodatuffs did not begin, however, until the latter part of 1916. 
There was a small advance as a rule during the latter part of 1914. 
In the case of some commodities this was maintained or slightly in- 
creased in 1915 and the first half of 1916, while in the case of others 
there was a small decline. By August and September, 1916, the upward 
tendency set in very rapidly and has continued up to the present time. 



THE INCREASE IN THE COST OF BREAD. 

"Probably one of the best single indicators of the increased cost of 
living, especially in the case of families of low incomes, is the price of 
bread. Some illuminating statistics in this connection have recently 
been collected by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. They con- 
sist of comparative prices in sixteen leading American cities during the 
past three years of a standard loaf of bread weighing sixteen ounces 
before baking. They show that the range of advance in bread prices 
since the beginning of the European war has been from 2.9 cents to 4.5 
cents a loaf. Expressed in terms of percentage the smallest increase in 
1917 as compared with 1914 was 49.2 per cent in New York, and the 
highest 91.8 per cent, in Birmingham, Alabama. In eleven out of the 
sixteen cities for which returns are furnished by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, the price of a loaf of bread advanced 75 or more per cent 
during the period, 1914-1917. ************ 



RETAIL FOOD PRICES AND THE PURCHASING POWER 
OF THE DOLLAR. 

"The best insight into the significance of recent advances in the 
retail prices of foodstuffs, however, is to be found in a comparison of 
the purchasing power of the dollar, or the standard of American values, 
during recent years. The purchasing power of the dollar over food- 
stuffs in 1917 as compared with 1911 declined almost 42 per cent, from 
100 cents in 1911 to 58.3 cents in 1917. In other words, practically 
only three-fifths of the quantities of foodstuffs could be bought for a 
dollar in the latter year as compared with the former. The decline in 
the buying power of the dollar has been especially marked since the 
outbreak of the European conflict in 1914. From 1911 to 1914 its 
purchasing power over foods iell only eight points, while from 1914 
to 1917 the decline was 31 points, or almost four times as much as in 
the three years preceding the war. Less than one-half as much flour, 
corn meal and lard could be bought with a dollar in November 1917 
as in 1914 and 1911, and less than three-fifths as much pork chops and 



80 APPENDIX A 

bacon. Expressed in terms of the fifteen principal articles of food for 
which information is furnished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics the 
dollar had the following relative values in 1917, as compared with the 
years listed below: 

1911 58.3 cents 

1912 62.0 cents 

1913.. 63.5 cents 

1914 1 65.1 cents 

1915 64.1 cents 

1916 72. 4 cents 

"This comparison among other significant things reveals the aston- 
ishing fact that the purchasing power of the dollar for articles of food 
during the past year alone, has declined more than one-fourth, and 
more than one-third as compared with the period immediately preced- 
ing the outbreak of the present war with Germany. By reference to 
the accompanying chart the constantly diminishing power of the dollar 
in acquiring the principal articles of food during the entire period 1911- 
1917 may be seen by a glance. 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 81 

DECLINE IN THE PURCHASING POWER OF A DOLLAR, BY YEARS AND 
PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD, 1911-1917. 



1911 UJ2 ISIS 1*14 ISIS WIS 1917 



BUTTER. LB 



1-8 Bbl Minn n 





POTATOES PK 



O © © © © w w 

^r © ^r ^r ^r fp w 



Represents IHCRB1SE orer 1911. 



82 APPENDIX A 

DECLINE IN THE PURCHASING POWER OF A DOLLAR, BY YEARS AND 
PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD, 1911-1917. 



1911 1918 1913 19H 191« 191« 1917 



STEAK. LB 



ROUND STEAK LB 





ROAST LB 



chops, lb Mooo 






BACON. LB ■, . ■ ■100 





I ■ ■Too 




"*■§ z-i 



IE 3 




INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



83 



THE ADVANCE IN THE COST OF FUEL AND LIGHT. 

"Comparative prices are available as to the cost of gas for lighting 
and other purposes in the principal cities of the country. These figures 
show considerable variations from one locality to another, but practi- 
cally no increase during recent years. Owing to the recent rapid advances 
in the cost of fuel, labor and materials, however, applications from public 
utility corporations for permission to increase their rates are now pend- 
ing in all sections of the country and it may be expected that increases 
in these items of expenditure will take place in the near future. 

"Increases in the cost of coal have been very rapid during recent 
years and especially since the beginning of the calendar year, 1917. 
Up until a year ago, or January 1917, the advances in the retail prices 
of representative domestic coal, as bituminous run of mine and Pennsyl- 
vania anthracite white ash, stove and chestnut sizes, as compared with 
the corresponding months of 1914 and 1917, ranged from 22 to 34 per 
cent. There is no authoritative data as to relative prices of coal for the 
country as a whole subsequent to January, 1917, but the price of bitu- 
minous (run of mine) coal at the pit mouth in the Pittsburgh District 
was about 300 per cent greater in 1917 than in 1914 and 1911. On 
July 5, 1917, the Federal Government, through the Coal Committee 
of the Council of National Defense, fixed a price of $3.00 a ton, and this 
was later changed on November 1, by the National Fuel Administrator, 
to $2.45 a ton. This latter price is practically 200 per cent higher than 
in 1914 or 1911. **************** 



WHOLESALE PRICES. 

"Wholesale prices, especially of foodstuffs, during recent years, show 
an even greater advance than retail prices. This tendency may be seen 
at once from an examination of the following table, which sets forth the 
increase in the authoritative index numbers of wholesale prices in this 
country and Canada in the year 1917 as compared with the years 1914 
and 1911. 



INCREASE IN WHOLESALE PRICES AS INDICATED BY REPRESENTATIVE INDEX 
NUMBERS, 1917 OVER 1911 AND 1914. 



Index number. 


Increase per cent. 


1917 

over 
1911. 


1917 
over 
1914. 




79.1 
104.4 
98.6 
93.5 
93.1 
90.4 


77.3 
100.1 
78.1 
86.3 
80.8 
78.3 






United States Bureau of Labor Statistics 







84 



APPENDIX A 



"Dun and Bradstreets, have been established as one branch of the 
activities of commercial agencies in reporting the general level of prices 
in the country. For this reason they include the prices of a large variety 
of commodities in order correctly to reflect commercial and industrial 
tendencies. The same is true, but to a much less extent, of Gibson's 
index numbers, which are used in connection with a service which aims 
to analyze and reflect contemporaneous business and financial condi- 
tions. The index numbers of the New York Times Annalist, on the 
other hand, are based on prices of food produ ts alone arranged theoreti- 
cally according to the consumption of an average workingman's family. 
While the index numbers of the Canadian and United States Bureaus 
of Labor Statistics include other groups of articles than foods, they are 
also selected and arranged to correspond to the commodities demanded 
and consumed by a normal or average family. The tendencies in price 
increases shown by all five of the series of index numbers are remarkably 
uniform. The general advance in wholesale prices during the seven years, 
1911-1917, as shown by the index numbers exclusive of Dun and Brad- 
street's, ranged from 90.4 per cent in the case of the Canadian series to 
98.6 per cent in the case of the Annalist. The increase shown by the 
Gibson and Bureau of Labor Statistics series was almost the same, 
being 93.1 per cent in the former, and 93.5 per cent in the latter series. 

"During the past three years the same relative tendencies have been 
exhibited. With the exception of Dun and Bradstreet's, the other five 
series have shown almost similar increases, the difference between the 
highest and the lowest advance being only eight points. The Canadian 
Department of Labor, Gibson and the Annalist series are almost iden- 
tical in point of increase, the variation between them being only 2.7 
per cent. These results point to the conclusion that the general advance 
in wholesale prices since the outbreak of the European war has been 
approximately 78 to 80 per cent. *********** 



WHOLESALE PRICE ADVANCES BY GROUPS OF COMMODI- 
TIES, 1911-1917. 

"The advances in wholesale prices made by various classesof commod- 
ities entering into the computation of the index numbers of the United 
States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1917 as against 1911 and 1914, is 
shown in the following table. 

INCREASE IN WHOLESALE PRICES BY CLASSES OF COMMODITIES. ENTERING 

INTO INDEX NUMBERS OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. 

1917 OVER 1911 AND 1914. 





Per cent of increase. 


1917 
over 
1911. 


1917 
over 
1914. 




118 

81 

96 
113 
1S7 

33 

98 

67 

55 

93.5 


95 
74 
91 
86 
161 
39 
98 
60 
64 
86.3 























INCREASED COST OF LIVING 85 

"Farm and food products, fuel and lighting, cloths and clothing, so 
far as general household consumption is concerned, it will be noted, show 
the greatest increases for both periods for which comparisons are made. 
Metals and metal products and drugs and chemicals in their unusual 

advances reflect war demands for minitions and other purposes. * * 

******* ******* * * * * * * * 

THE VALUE OF STUDIES OF FAMILY BUDGETS. 

"Statistics as to retail and wholesale prices are of small value so far 
as their bearing upon family living costs are concerned, unless it is known 
what proportions of different classes of food, other articles, and service, 
enter into the consumption of families of various incomes. When the 
proportion of a family's outgo for food, rent, fuel, clothing, and mis- 
cellaneous items are known, the retail prices of certain articles can be 
weighted according to their relative importance from a consumption 
standpoint, and the increased family living costs correctly ascertained. 
For this reason a number of original investigations have been made to 
ascertain these facts. Other studies have been made to determine the 
cost of a minimum family subsistence or of a minimum standard of 
comfort ******************* 

RECENT BUDGETARY STUDIES AND INVESTIGATIONS. 

Several important collections and studies of family budgets have 
been made in the United States during recent years. The most impor- 
tant of these have been: 

1. Chapin — The Standard of Living in New York City (1907.) 

2. More— Wage-Earners' Budgets (1903-1905.) 

3. Byington— Homestead : A Mill Town (1907-1908.) 

4. New York State Conference of Charities and Correctives (pub- 
lished in Chapin, supt. cit., (1907.) 

5. U. S. Bureau of Labor — Women and Child Wage-Earners, Vol. 
xix (1909.) 

6. British Board of Trade — The Cost of Living in American Towns 
(1909.) 

7. J. C. Kennedy and others — Wage and Family Budgets in the 
Chicago Stock Yard District (1909-1910.) 

8. Pittsburgh Associated Charities report (1910.) 

9. Budget compiled weekly by Canadian Department of Labor. 

10. Budget compiled annually by Department of Labor, Olympia, 
Washington. 

11. Budget awarded by wage arbitration board in December, 1917, 
to Seattle and Tacoma Street Railway Employees. 

12. Minimum Diet Budget on which health could be maintained, 
prepared by Professor M. E. Jaffa, of the University of California, for 
Oakland Street Railways Arbitration Board September 1917. 

13. A minimum standard of comfort budget, prepared by Dr. Jessica 
B. Peixotto of the University of California October 1917. 

14. Budgetary Study on the Pacific Coast by Labor Adjustment 
Board, U. S. Emergency Fleet Corporation, October 1917. 



86 APPENDIX A 

15. Budget of a minimum food supply for a representative City 
Family October 1917, Department of Health, New York Cityt 

16. Report on the increased cost of living for an unskilled laborer's 
family in New York City. Prepared by the Bureau of Personal Service 
of the Board of Estimates and Apportionment, Feb. 1917. 

17. Tentative budget of minimum standard of living, Bureau of 
Municipal Research of the City of Philadelphia, December 1917. 

18. Minimum Budget of the Delaware River Council of Shipyard 
Workers, Philadelphia, January 1918. 

19. Study of Budgetary Increases, 1915-1917, Bankers Trust Co. 
of New York, December 1917. 



PROPORTIONS OF FAMILY EXPENDITURE FOR VARIOUS ITEMS. 

These recent budgetary investigations show that the family of aver- 
age size and of earnings within the predominent ranges of income dis- 
poses of its income in approximately the following proportions at exist- 
ing prices: 

Per Cent. 

Food 40 to 50 

Rent 17 to 20 

Clothing 12 to 15 

Fuel and lighting 4 to 8 

Sundries 10 to 17 



Something like four-fifths of the family income must be spent for 
subsistence, clothing and shelter. For all of the other items of expendi- 
ture which contribute to the health, comfort and contentment of the 
family a comparatively small proportion of the family income is available. 

As an illustration the more detailed data obtained from an actual 
intensive study by the U. S. Bureau of Labor in 1901, of the annual 
budgets of 2,567 workingmen's families may be presented. 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



87 



PER CENT OF EXPENDITURE FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN 
BY CLASSIFIED INCOME 1901 



1,156 NORMAL FAMILIES 



Classified Income. 


Rent 


Fuel 


Lightr 
ing 


Food 


Cloth- 
ing 


Sun- 
dries 


Total 


Under $200 


16.93 
18.02 
18.69 

18.57 
18.43 
18.48 
18.17 
17.07 
17.58 
17.53 
16.59 
17.40 


6.69 
6.09 
5.97 
5.54 
5.09 
4.65 
4.14 
3.87 
3.85 
3.77 
3.63 
3.85 


1.27 
1.13 
1.14 
1.12 
1.12 
1.12 
1.12 
1.10 
1.11 
1.16 
1.08 
1.18 


50.85 
47.33 
48.09 
46.88 
46.16 
43.48 
41.44 
41.37 
39.90 
38.79 
37.68 
36.45 


8.68 
8.66 
10.02 
11.39 
11.98 
12.88 
13.50 
13.57 
14.35 
15.06 
14.89 
15.72 


15.58 
18.77 
16.09 
16.50 
17.22 
19.39 
21.63 
23.02 
23.21 
23.69 
26.13 
25.40 


100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 


$200 or under $300 

300 or under 400 

400 or under 500 

SOO or under 600 

600 or under 700 

700 or under 800 

800 or under 900 

900 or under 1,000 

1,000 or under 1,100 

1,100 or under 1,200 


Total 


18.12 


4.57 


1.12 


43.13 


12.95 


20.11 


100.00 



PER CENT OF TOTAL FAMILY INCOME EXPENDED FOR MEAT, ALL FOOD, RENT, AND 
FOR FOOD AND RENT IN 3,215 FAMILIES IN 1909. (a) 



Items" of Expenditures 




Families Reporting 


Weekly 


Incomes of 




Under 
$ 9.73 


$9.73 
and 
under 
14.60 


$14.60 
and 
under 
19.47 


$19.47 
and 
under 
24.33 


$24.33 
and 
under 
29.20 


$29.20 
and 
under 
34.07 


$34.07 
and 
under 
38.93 


$38.93 
and 
over 


Meat 

All food 


$12.95 
51.39 
19.53 
70.92 


$13.49 
47.62 
17.74 
65.36 


$12.22 
44.15 
16.66 
60.81 


$11.36 
41.19 
15.34 
56.53 


$10.50 
37.88 
14.04 
51.92 


$ 9.32 
33.53 
12.01 

45.54 


$10.23 
34.49 
12.04 
46.53 


$ 9.28 
28.40 
9.91 
38.31 


Rent 

Food and rent 



(a) Compiled digest of British Board of Trade report on the cost of living in American towns. Sen. 
Doc. 38, 62d Cong., 1st Sess. p. 44. The families included were native white and British born in cities 
in northern states. 



88 



APPENDIX A 



MINIMUM STANDARDS OF SUBSISTENCE AND COMFORT. 

From-the-family budget studies and collections which- Jiave been 

made it is possible to review what the facts have disclosed as to actual 
minimum standards of living and comfort or what has been indicated 
to be the minimum standards of subsistence and comfort. 

THE CANADIAN BUDGET. 

The Canadian Department of Labour publishes each month in its 
Labour Gazette a weekly budget for an average workingman's family, 
showing the weekly cost of groceries or staple foods, fuel and lighting 
and rent. It is based on retail price quotations from the principal 
Canadian cities. This budget is of value because it is representative 
of the families of similar classes of industrial workers living in adjacent 
territory in the United States. For the three years, 1911, 1914, and 
1917, the outlay for this restricted budget was as follows: 

COMPARISON OF CANADIAN WEEKLY BUDGET, 1911-1917. 



Canadian Department of Labour. 


1911 


1914 


1917 


Per cent increase 
1917 over 


1911 


1914 




$ 7.14 
1.78 
4.05 


$ 7.99 
1.90 
4.54 


$11.68 
2.40 
4.36 


63.6 

34.6 

7.7 


46.1 

26.5 

4.1 (Dec.) 




Rent 




$12.97 


$14.44 


$18.44 


42.1 


27.7 





On an annual basis, the total food cost shown by the Canadian budget 
in 1917, amounted to $607.36. Assuming that the food cost was 40 
per cent of the total outlays of the type of family represented, the total 
annual expenditures for an average workingman's family in Canada 
as far back as August, 1917, would have amounted to $1518.40. 

MINIMUM BUDGET FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. 

Since April 1914, the Washington State Bureau of Labor has insti- 
tuted in April of each year a special investigation of prices of food and 
fuel. Statistics are secured by field agents from about forty retail 
dealers in as many towns and cities throughout the State. As to the 
relative importance of different items of expenditure the Labor Com- 
mission states that "when the budget was first prepared, a great many 
families were interviewed as to varieties of articles and quantities thereof 
necessary for a family of five during a period of one year, so that in this 
particular the average amounts used are also accurate. 

"A careful perusal will also convince that the quantities estimated 
are conservatively low. Flour, 686 pounds for a year, means only 
about six ounces per day per person, for a family of five; potatoes, 800 
pounds, means about seven ounces per day. Flesh meat and fish allow- 
ances are very small." 

The budgetary table is divided into three sections: one showing the 
cost for groceries, a second the costs of flesh meat and fish, and a third 
fuel costs. A comparative summary for two of the largest industrial 
cities of the State, Seattle and Spokane, are shown in the table below 
for the four years, 1914-1917. 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



89 



TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF FOODSTUFFS AND FUEL FOR A 
FAMILY OF FIVE. 



ISurvey made in month of April of each year indicated. 



Quantity and article. 


Seattle. 


Spokane. 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 


Totals: 


$236.66 
137.53 
44.27 


$254.04 
141.53 
48.15 


$268.78 
146.44 
46.20 


$331.30 
183.71 
47.69 


$238.13 
124.94 
60.96 


$252.10 
135.88 
56.94 


$256.43 
147.82 
59.25 


$342.82 
169.59 
66.50 


Meat and fish 

Fuel 






¥418. 46 
8.04 


$443.72 
8.53 


$461.42 
8.87 


$562.70 
10.82 


$424.03 
8.15 


$444.92 
8.55 


$463.50 
8.91 


$578.91 
11.13 


Weekly average 



Assuming, as in the case of the Canadian budget, that the food cost 
was 40 per cent of the total family expenditures, the Washington budget 
would represent an annual family outlay in 1917 in Seattle of $1287.50. 



WEEKLY AND ANNUAL COST OF A MINIMUM STANDARD DIET FOR A 
FAMILY OF FIVE IN THE PRINCIPAL AMERICAN CITIES. 

"In October, 1917, Inspector Graef, of the Department of Health 
New York City, made a careful comparison of the costs of the various 
elements in a standard, palatable weekly dietary for a family of five in 
the largest cities of the United States. The results of his study in 
terms of weekly and annual expenditures for food, by leading cities, were 
as follows: 



Kind of food. 


New York 
City. 


Average of 

24 cities 

throughout 

U.S. 


Boston. 


Chicago. 


New 
Orleans. 


San 

Francisco. 




$0,185 
2.943 

.690 

.515 
3.340 

.665 
3.229 

.110 


$0,177 
3.144 

.650 

.570 
3.343 

.673 
2.717 

.110 


$0,180 
2.202 

.670 

.515 
3.925 

.765 
2.834 

.110 


$0,200 
3.153 

.626 

.537 
3.165 

.685 
2.834 

.110 


$0,200 
3.022 

.625 

.540 
2.801 

.660 
2.409 

.110 


$0,150 
2.902 

.605 

.581 
2.950 

.582 
2.284 

.110 


Cereals 


Dried fruits. . ., 










Total weekly cost of food 


$12,953 
673.40 


$12,685 
659.36 


$12,451 
647.40 


$12,593 
654.68 


$11,929 
619.36 


$11,460 
595.92 







"The annual cost of this minimum food diet for a of five family ranges , 
as it will be noted, from $595.92 in San Francisco to $673.40 in New 
York City. The average of 24 cities throughout the United States was 
$659.36, which would be representative of an annual income of $1,500 
to $1,600." 



90 



APPENDIX A 



A MINIMUM MONTHLY DIET TO MAINTAIN HEALTH AND 
ITS COST. 

"The cost of a minimum monthly diet upon which health can be main- 
tained by a family of five has been estimated by Professor Jaffa, of the 
University of California, at $45.32 per month, or §543.84 annually. 
The cost of this diet he shows has advanced from $27.09 a month in 
1912, and $29.66 a month in 1914, to $45.32 in 1917, an increase of 67 
per cent in the ten years, 1907-1917. The detailed statement of this 
diet and its increase in cost is as follows: 



MINIMUM DIET ON WHICH HEALTH CAN BE MAINTAINED FOR A WORKINGMAN. HIS 
WIFE AND THREE CHILDREN BETWEEN FOUR AND FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE. 



Food materials. 


Food and cost for one month. 


Pounds. 


1907. 


1912. 


1916. 


1917. 


Class I— 


50 

120 

6 

8 

60 
17 
4 
10 

35 
55 
50 

8 
10 

25 

2 


$5.75 

4.80 

.81 

.40 

1.88 
.49 
.28 
.60 

.70 
1.38 
2.25 

2.29 
1.35 

1.38 

.73 
2.00 


$7.25 

4.80 

1.12 

.40 

1.92 
.77 
.32 
.60 

1.05 
1.65 
2.50 

2.55 
1.90 

1.53 

1.00 
2.30 


$8.00 

4.80 

1.08 

.40 

1.92 

1.02 

.32 

.60 

1.05 
1.65 
2.50 

2.40 
2.00 

1.75 

1.00 
2.50 


$10.00 
6.00 
1.56 
1.60 

4.80 

1.36 

.50 

.83 

2.17 
1.65 
2.50 

3.60 
2.50 

2.25 

1.00 
3.00 


Milk 






Class II— 

Flour 








Class Ill- 




Fruits 


Class IV— 




Class V— 


Extras — 










$ 27.09 
325.08 


S 29.66 
356.92 


$ 32.99 
395.88 


$ 45.32 
543.84 











'Sundries include yeast, corn starch, cocoa, cheese, syrup, salt, etc. 



"Assuming, as in other cases, food to be approximately 40 per cent 
of the total family outlay, the annual minimum family expenditures 
on this basis in 1917 would amount to $1359.60." 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



91 



TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR A MINIMUM STANDARD OF LIVING PUT FOR- 
WARD BY THE BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH OF THE 
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

On the basis of the declaration by the Government that standards of 
work and living of wage-earners should be maintained during the war, 
the Bureau of Municipal Research of the City of Philadelphia in Decem- 
ber, 1917, entered into an investigation to determine a wage which would 
serve to meet the living costs of laborers employed by the city, and, 
as a result of this inquiry, submitted a tentative schedule for discussion 
which was designed to meet the minimum living requirements of an 
average workingman's family. 

"Since this tentative standard is so decidedly the minimum" it was 
stated, "on which a family can exist, we would be especially pleased to 
have your suggestions take the form of how much more ought to be 
added to make it a fair standard." 

The budget submitted was as follows: 



TENTATIVE MINIMUM STANDARD OF LIVING FOR A FAMILY OF FIVE, COMPOSED OF 
TWO ADULTS AND THREE CHILDREN UNDER INCOME-EARNING AGE. 



Housing — $15.00 per month 

This provides from four to six rooms, depending upon locality. 

Fuel and light 

Four and one-half tons of coal $ 39 . 38 

Gas 33.80 

Kindling, matches, etc 1 .82 

Food 

Food $581 . 67 

Ice 8.33 

Clothing 

Health 

For services of physician, dentist, oculist and nurse, and also 
. for surgical appliances, drugs, etc. 

Furniture and furnishings 

Replacements of towels, bedding, dishes, breakage, etc. 

Taxes, dues and contributions 

To government, churches, patriotic societies, etc. 

Recreation, vacation and amusements 

Education and reading 

School expenses $1 . 50 

Newspaper. 8 . 84 

Postage and stationery .66 

Insurance 

Carfare 

To and from work and one dollar for the rest of the family for 
the year. 

Cleaning, supplies and services 

Soap, washing material, brooms, brushes, laundry, etc.— 
thirty-eight cents per week; 

Other expenses 

Includes funeral expenses, moving expenses, tobacco and re- 
freshments. 

Total 



$180.00 


75 


00 


590 


00 


166 

27 


00 
00 


20 


00 


20.00 


15 


00 
00 


23 
32 


40 
30 


20 


00 


20.30 


$1,200.00 



92 



Al'l'KXDIX A 



ADDITIONS SUGGESTED BY DELAWARE RIVER SHIPYARD WORKERS. 

In January, 1918, the employes of shipyards in Philadelphia, in urg- 
ing the need for an increased wage because of higher living costs, used 
the tentative budget of the Bureau of Municipal Research as a basis 
for their argument. In presenting their case to the Labor Adjustment 
Board of the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation, they stated 
that, as the result of their experience, the budget of the Bureau of 
Municipal Research fell short of the minimum requirements of an average 
laborer's family subsistence by at least $231. 30 annually. They revised 
the budget by additions to the various items as follows: 





$240.00 




90 . 00 




640 . 00 




226.00 


Health . . 


27.00 




50.00 




30 00 




12.50 




39.00 




36.50 




20.00 




20.30 






£1431 30 





MINIMUM STANDARDS OF SUBSISTENCE AND COMFORT. 

"During the latter half of 1917, the street railway employees of 
Tacoma and Seattle, Washington, submitted a demand for higher wages 
to an arbitration board. Exhaustive documentary and personal evi- 
dence was submitted as to the cost of maintaining a minimum standard 
of comfort. On the basis of this estimate, the counsel for the employees 
prepared a budget for the purpose of showing that a minimum annual 
wage of $1,917.88 was necessary. The members of the arbitration board, 
after their own analysis of the evidence, supplemented by an original 
investigation by the faculty of the Department of Economics of the 
University of Washington, awarded the street railwaymen a budget of 
$1,505.60, or, in other words, it was stated as the .final decision of the 
board that an annual wage of this amount was necessary, and the 
hourly rates of pay were fixed with the object of yielding $1,505.60 to 
each employee, as a minimum. 

"The awards of the board containing the detailed budget and comment 
is so important in its bearing upon the present question that it is repro- 
duced below: 



INCREASED COST OF LIVING 



93 



FINDINGS OF THE BOARD OF ARBITRATION APPOINTED TO DETERMINE 
MATTERS IN CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE PUGET SOUND TRAC- 
TION, LIGHT & POWER CO., THE TACOMA RAILWAY & 
POWER COMPANY AND THEIR EMPLOYES. 





$533.40 
60 00 
90.50 
87.00 
32.50 
48.50 
33.00 
40.00 
11.00 
20.00 
60.00 
30.00 

100.00 
20.00 
15.00 

184.00 
35.70 
30.00 
30.00 
25.00 
20.00 


Fuel 










Clothing — boy of 5 or 6 










Reading matter, music 


















Total . 


$1,505.60 





*See Education. 



Minimum Comfort Budget 
for one year for a 
family of five. 



TOTAL BUDGET 





$ 291.50 
533.40 
366.00 
314.70 








Total 


$1,505.60 





REMARKS ON TOTAL BUDGET. 



"This budget may be called a minimum comfort budget and is slightly 
higher than a minimum health budget. Various minimum health bud- 
gets have been constructed and vary slightly from city to city and 
significantly from year to year as the cost of living rises. The minimum 
comfort budget has been rarely set by experts. Theoretically such a 
standard would vary according to the definition of comfort of the par- 
ticular investigator. Practically such varying levels are not as great 
as would seem theoretically because minimum comfort budgets, actually 
existing, group around a definite level. 



Q4 



APPENDIX A 



"The accompanying budget is not one for an ideal family. The ideal 
wife is one who wastes no calories in food preparation and one having 
the expert knowledge of sewing of a graduate in domestic economy, 
but few actual wives have had the benefit of such education. 

"The budget is, however, a generalized budget. Thus some men 
smoke and some do not. The item for smoking should be generalized 
very much as the statistical term, the arithmetic mean, is a generalized 
term. 

"Actual budgets vary around a particular definite level, just as men 
vary in stature and weight. Particular extremes are therefore not cited; 
but the items have been set near an approximate arithmetic mean of 
budgets, many of which have been collected from existing families; 
although there is some argument for setting items nearer the upper 
variations than near the mean. 

"The budget is for a family of five. Three children are chosen for 
various reasons, (a) Three children at least are necessary for the race 
to perpetuate itself, (b) Federal and state experts do not make out 
budgets for less than families of five; thus, neither public nor expert 
opinion sanctions a smaller standard, (c) Standards of a warring and 
industrially competing nation would seem to demand three children as 
a minimum, (d) Unmarried men are less desirable than married men, 
individually and socially, physically and morally; and the economic 
barrier to marriage is recognized as an important one. (e) The family 
of five, while larger than the average in the company's employ, may 
nevertheless be taken as the standard family of workmen receiving the 
maximum hourly rate, and the lower differentials worked out from this 
rate. 



REMARKS ON CLOTHING BUDGET. 

"The clothing estimates are made on the assumption that the wife 
does some sewing and remaking of some garments for the children. 
The figures are based on estimates of the life of garments to fractions of 
years. The clothing is also for a generalized family. 



CLOTHING. 



Man — 
Top coats (mackinaw-overcoat. sweater) . . . 

Suits (uniform, suit, extra trousers) 

Shoes (and repairs) 

Overshoes 

Underwear (woolen and cotton) 

Night garments 

Hats (uniform cap and hat) 

Shirts (flannel and cotton) 

Sox 

Gloves (average conductor and motorman) 

Ties, collars and handkerchiefs 

Suspenders and garters 

Incidentals (cuff buttons, brush, etc.) 

Total 




INCREASED COST OF LIVING 
CLOTHING— Continued. 



95 



Woman — 


$ 8.00 
12.50 
14.00 
.50 
5.00 
3.00 
2.00 
3.00 
.50 
4.50 
5.00 
7.50 
9.00 
2.50 
4.50 
2.50 
2.00 
1.00 




























Incidentals (veils, pins, purse, brush, slippers, hndkfs., etc.) . . 








$87.00 





Boy of 13 or 14 years — 
Top coat (mackinaw and sweater) 


$ 4.50 
14.50 
15.00 
4.00 
1.50 
2.00 
3.00 
2.50 
1.50 

$48.50 














Ties, handkerchiefs, etc 





Girl of 8 or 9 years — 


$ 5.00 
12.00 
1.50 
5.75 
1.00 
1.50 
1.75 
2.00 
1.00 
1.00 
.00 


























$32.50 





Boy of 5 or 6 years — 

Top coat (and sweater) 

Shoes (and repairs) 

Suits (wash, best and coveralls) 

Rubbers 

Underwaists and garters 

Night garments 

Hats (and caps) 

Waists (and blouses) 

Mittens, ties, handkerchiefs 

Stockings 

Underwear 

Total 



$ 4.00 
11.00 
8.00 
1.50 
1.50 
1.00 
1.25 
2.00 

.75 
2.00 

.00 



$33.00 



96 



APPENDIX A 



REMARKS ON FOOD BUDGET. 

"Various dietaries with differing proportions of meats, vegetables, 
fats, etc., have been constructed and each totals nearly the same figure. 
The calorie requirements are slightly over 12,000 a week for a family of 
five, distributed as follows: man, 3,400; woman, 2,700; boy of thirteer 
or fourteen, 2,700; girl of eight or nine, 2,000; boy of five or six, 1,500. 
The figure for meat is a little lower than is actually found among the 
carmen's families, but it is quite probable that during war time the iter 
for meat will become progressively lower. 



FOOD 


S 26.00 
78.00 
41.60 
98.80 
16.64 
52.00 
93.60 
23.40 
87.36 
16.00 
















Milk 






$533.40 





REMARKS ON SUNDRIES. 

"The insurance and savings item is larger than actually occurs, due 
probably to the fact that expenses and wages do not at present permit 
saving. The item is conservatively low. Medical and dental care 
varies widely, but $60 seems to be near the present average. The 
miscellaneous item is included because it actually exists. 



SUNDRIES. 
Amusements (movies, vacations, picnics, etc.) 

Education and literature 

Insurance and savings 

Comforts (tobacco, candy, Christmas, etc.) . . 

Organizations 

Dental and medical care 

Incidentals (stamps, barbers, stationery, etc.) 
Household (furniture, laundry, tools, etc.) . . . 
Miscellaneous (exigencies and waste) 

Total 



$ 30.00 
11.00 
130.00 
30.00 
20.00 
60.00 
25.00 
40.00 
20.00 



$366.00 



REMARKS ON RENT, ETC. 

"In some houses the water is not included in the rent. Gas has recently 
risen and the estimate is on the proposed raise. 





RENT. ETC. 


$184.00 
20.00 
15.00 
60.00 
35.70 


Gas 


Light 


Fuel 


Carfare 


Total. 




$314.70 





INCREASED COST OF LIVING 97 

"This budgetary estimate was closely approximated by a contem- 
porary and independent study by Dr. Jessica B. Peixotto, of the faculty 
of the University of California. She showed that $1,476.40 was required 
annually under existing conditions to maintain a decent minimum of 
comfort for an average workingman's family of five — husband, wife, 
and three children under the working age. 

"The typical worker in San Francisco," she states in her explanatory 
comment, "belongs to a class which insists upon having food enough to 
provide a palatable and somewhat varied dietary; shelter and clothing 
that conforms to the traditional idea of the 'decencies' rather than the 
'necessities;' some income to pay for schooling the children, for re- 
laxation in leisure hours, and something to provide against the risks of 
ill-health, invalidity and death. Though the total looks large, it is 
actually little above Miss Byington's estimates in her Homestead 
Study, considering the rise in the prices of food and clothing Inspec- 
tion of the individual items will show that very modest sums have been 
assigned to each class of wants. The housewife who keeps within the 
amounts specified must still have to be a cautious purchaser, and capable 
in preparing foodstuffs and industrious in making clothing. 

"It would seem, then, that the present scale of wages is such that a 
family of man, wife, and three children of school age cannot be main- 
tained without getting into debt or receiving aid on much less than $110 
a month. When the normal breadwinner is paid less than this sum, one 
of three things, any one of them harmful for the group and for the com- 
munity, is likely to happen: 

"1. Other members of the family will have to work to eke out the 
income, or 

"2. There will be less food than is necessary for the men to do effi- 
cient work. The risks of ill-health to all members of the group and the 
consequent costs to the group and to society are equally plain. Or 

"3. The group must go without many of the articles noted under 
Sundries and House Operations. The probabilities of stupidity, early 
breakdown, and dependency are evident, for the expression of the more 
subtle capacities, the capacity for foresight, for generosity, for sociabil- 
ity, depends on having some money for 'Sundries.' One of the most 
important differences between social dependents, potential or actual, 
and self-supporting citizens is that social dependents are willing to go 
without the money for 'Sundries' and capable men and women recog- 
nize the imperative need for the money that will buy those things the 
term covers." 



98 



APPENDIX A 



LIVING EXPENSES FOR FAMILY OF FIVE 




Items. 


Month. 


Year. 


Total. 




$20.00 
11.50 

3.00 

1.50 

.25 

1.00 

.25 

2.50 

1.50 

1.50 

45.00 

288.40 

74.50 

73.90 

140.00 

22.50 

4.00 

1.25 

5.00 

5.00 

1.25 

2.00 

.25 

1.25 

1.00 

.50 

1.00 


$240.00 

138.00 

36.00 

18.00 

3.00 

12.00 

3.00 

30.00 

18.00 

18.00 

540.00 

288.40 


$240.00 
138.00 




Fuel 




Laundry 














Telephone 








540.00 
288.40 


Clothing 
















270.00 
48.00 
15.00 
60.00 
60.00 
15.00 
24.00 

3.00 
15.00 
12.00 

6.00 
12.00 


270.00 


Medicines 




















Newspapers, school supplies, etc 

Tobacco, drinks, etc 








Gifts (Christmas, etc.) 






$1,476.40 












EXPENDITURE FOR CLOTHING. 



MAN 


WIFE. 


CHILDREN (3 under 12) 


Article. 


Price. 


Article. 


Price. 


Article. 


Price. 


1 business suit (@$20 

lasts 2 years) 

1 overcoat {<&, $20 lasts 


$10.00 

4.00 
5.00 
3.00 
.75 
.50 
5.00 
2.00 
1.50 
10.00 
3.75 

1.25 
1.00 

1.50 

.75 

5.00 


1 street dress ( @ $20 lasts 


$10.00 
3.00 
5.00 
3.00 
.90 
5.00 
5.00 
1.50 

10.00 
1.50 

10.00 
3.75 
3.25 

5.00 
7.00 


9 suits or dresses 


$25.00 
15.00 
15.00 
8.00 
5.00 

5.00 
50.00 
17.00 

$140.00 




15 sets of underwear. . . . 
24 pairs stockings 


Waists 


1 extra trousers 




Sundries: Cravats, rib- 
bons, mufflers, sweat- 
ers, aprons, rompers, 










3 underwear 

2 nightwear 




Coat (@ $20 lasts 2 yrs.) 
Handkerchiefs 


16 to 18 pairs shoes 






Repairs on shoes 

1 pair slippers, gum 


Repairs on shoes 


Sundries: Hairpins, veils, 
toilet articles, repairs 
of clothing, frills, etc. . 

1 ceremonial dress ( @ $21 
lasts 3 years) 


Handkerchiefs 

1 hat (@ $3.00 lasts 2 


1 cap 

Sundries: Muffler, 
sweater, gloves, purse, 
watch fob, umbrella. 


$73.90 




$65.00 



SUMMARY TABLE. 



Items. 


Amounts. 




$ 240.00 
138.00 
540.00 
288.40 
270.00 






Clothing 






$1,476.40 





INCREASED COST OF LIVING 99 

MINIMUM INCOME ESTABLISHED FOR UNSKILLED LABORERS EMPLOYED 
BY THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 

In response to a request for an .advance in pay because of increased 
living costs, the Bureau of Personal Service of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment, New York City, in February 1917 — about a year 
ago — made an investigation of the cost of living of an unskilled laborer's 
family in New York City. Their findings, upon which a corresponding 
increase in rates of pay were made by the city government, were, accord- 
ing to eight standard groups of expense, as follows: 





1915 


1917 


$168.00 


$168.00 
30.30 
492.388 
127.10 
46.75 
20.00 
22.88 
73.00 




30.30 


III. — Food 


383.812 




104.20 




42 . 75 


VI. — Health 


20.00 




22.88 




73.00 






$844,942 


$980,418 

$ 5.00 
40.00 
18.00 
5.00 
5.00 


Sundries classified — 








Furniture, utensils, fixtures, moving expenses, etc 






Incidentals — Soap, washing material, stamps, etc 




$ 73.00 







The items of this budget, as can be readily seen, were based on mini- 
mum requirements and left but a small margin above subsistence. 
During the year since the investigation was made there have been pro- 
nounced advances in prices, and, as a consequence, an investigation at 
this time would undoubtedly result in large additions. Food costs of 
the budget alone have advanced more than $100 since the February 
1917 standard was established. 



APPENDIX B 

TREND OF WAGES FROM 1911 TO 1917 

The trend of wages in various important industries in the United 
States from 1911 to December 1917 is presented in a recently published 
book entitled "Wages and the War" by Hugh S. Hanna and W. Jett 
Lauck. The following extract taken from the first chapter of that book 
summarizes the principal findings of the study as regards wage changes, 
hours of labor and overtime payment. 

During the past few years, and more particularly during the period of 
the war, there has been an increase in money wages in practically all 
branches of American industry. But there has been absolutely no uni- 
formity in the degree of increase. In some trades there have been wage 
advances that a little while ago would have appeared wildly incredible. 
In others the advances have been very moderate, little, if any greater, 
than had occurred during a period of equal length in the preceding years 
of peace. 

The great advances have taken place in those lines of industry for the 
products of which the war has created a special demand, such, for in- 
stance, as those of the iron and steel industry, the metal trades, coal 
mining and shipbuilding. In some industries, such as printing, the war 
made no special demands; in still others, such as building, the war had 
a depressing effect. In these cases, wage rates show no great upward 
movements, although almost everywhere there has been some advance. 

Many individual workers in these trades, of course, profited by trans- 
ferring themselves to shipbuilding, munitions making, and other dis- 
tinctly war industries. With some crafts, such a transfer is easy and 
profitable. Carpenters and steamfitters, for instance, can apply the 
same skill they have developed in the building trades to almost identical 
work in shipbuilding. But this is not always the case. A printer or a 
glassblower, for instance, finds no particular demand for his special skill 
in the war industries. If he changes his job it must usually be to some 
form of unskilled work where his craft knowledge is of little or no use. 
Thus, there would be no profit for him in changing to an unskilled labor 
status, even though the wage rates of such labor have advanced much 
more rapidly than the wage rates in his own trade. 

It does not appear 'hat the wage advances have been related to the 
matter of labor organization. The three industries in which perhaps the 
most notable advances have occurred are iron and steel, bituminous 
mining and shipbuilding. The first of these — iron and steel — is almost 
wholly unorganized. The second — bituminous coal mining — is strongly 
unionized. The third — shipbuilding — is partly organized and partly 
unorganized. 

In general, however, the trades and localities which were poorly 
organized have shown the greatest percentage increases in wages. This 
is due simply to the fact that these trades and localities were, as a rule, 
previously upon a much lower level of wage compensation. Unorganized 
labor seems more responsive to the immediate demands of the moment 

100 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 101 

than is organized labor. Its wages have tended to rise more rapidly in 
periods of business activity and to sink more rapidly in periods of busi- 
ness depression. 



THE TREND OF WAGES IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES. 

It is difficult to show in summary form the recent changes in wage 
rates that have occurred for all of the trades and occupations covered 
by this study. A very complete idea, however, of the changes which 
have taken place is offered in the accompanying table and chart. The 
first part of the table and chart shows the per cent of increase in Decem- 
ber, 1917, or January, 1918, over the years 1911-1912, in the wages and 
earnings of a large number of typical occupations and industries. The 
second part of the chart shows similar percentages of increase for De- 
cember, 1917, or January, 1918, over the years 1914-1915. Certain 
trades are included in the second part which could not be included in 
the first part because data were absent for the 1911-1912 period. 

This chart brings out more clearly than could many pages of text, 
the differing degrees of change which have occurred in the wages of 
different trades and occupations. All of the entries are for money rates 
of pay— per hour, day, or piece — except in the cases marked "earnings." 
Here the entries show changes in earnings, not rates, and earnings, of 
course, are not strictly comparable with wage rates, as the former are 
influenced by the amount of time worked. The influence of this factor 
is discussed in another chapter. 1 



Part II. Chapter 17 



102 APPENDIX B 

PART 1.— RELATIVE WAGES IN LEADING OCCUPATIONS. DECEMBER. 1917, OVER 

1911-1912. 

[1911-1912=100.] 



Compositors and linotype operatois (newspapers, day) 

Electrotypers (finishers) 

Hodcarriers (plaster tending) 

Motormen and conductors (street railways) 

Steamfitters (building trade) 

Structural iron workers (building trade) 

Plumbers and gasfitters (building trade) 

Mining (anthracite) 

Sheet-metal workers (building trade) 

Blacksmiths (railroad shops, Southeastein) 

Inside wiremen (building trade) 

Machinists (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Shipsmiths (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Machinists (railroad shops, Southeastern) 

Boilermakers (railroad shops, Southeastern) 

Shipfitters (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Pick mining, bituminous (Hocking Valley District) 

Pipefitters (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Riveters, chippers and caulkers (Ship Yard, Washington, Oregon). 
Blacksmiths (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Machinists (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Electricians (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Shipwrights, joiners, boatmen, millmen (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Longshoremen (New York) 

Sheet-metal workers (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Machine mining, bituminous (Hocking Valley District) 

Blast furnace (iron and steel) 

Common labor (iron and steel) 

Inside labor (most occupations), bituminous (Hocking Valley) 

Open hearths (iron and steel) 



1917 over 
1911-12. 



HI 
117 
117 
118 
119 

123 
124 
124 
129 
129 

130 
131 
134 
135 
136 

140 
142 
144 
144 
144 

144 
144 

147 
152 
165 

166 
177 
180 
185 
187 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 



PART 2.— RELATIVE WAGES IN LEADING OCCUPATIONS, 

1914-1915. 



103 

DECEMBER, 1917. OVER 



[1914-1915=100.] 



1917 over 
1914-15. 



Compositors and linotype operators (newspapers, day) 

Electrotypers (finishers) 

Hodcarriers (plaster tending) 

Plumbers and gasfitters (building trade) 

Structural iron workers (building trade) 

Steamfitters (building trades) 

Motormen and conductors (street railways) 

Sheet-metal workers (building trade) 

Mining (anthracite) 

Inside wiremen (building trade) 

Blacksmiths (railroad shops, Southeastern) 

Boilermakers (railroad shops, Southeastern) 

Longshoremen (New York) 

Machinists (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Machinists (railroad shops, Southeastern) 

Pick mining, bituminous (Hocking Valley District) 

Shipsmiths (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Shipfitters (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

Pipefitters (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) 

New York State, (average weekly earnings) 

Silk industry (earnings) 

Riveters, chippers and caulkers (Ship Yard, Washington, Oregon). 

Blacksmiths (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Machinists (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Electricians (Ship Yard , San Francisco) 

Shipwrights, joiners, boatmen, millmen (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Machine Mining, bituminous (Hocking Valley District) 

Cotton finishing manufacturing (earnings) 

Hosiery and underwear manufacturing (earnings) 

Common labor (iron and steel) 

Blast furnaces (iron and steel) 

Loftsmen (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Electricians (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Sh eet-metal workers (Ship Yard, San Francisco) 

Cot ton manufacturing (earnings) 

Open hearths (iron and steel) 

Sheet-metal workers (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Machinists (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Woolen manufacturing (earnings) 

Riveters (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Inside labor (most occupations), bituminous (Hocking Valley) 

Boots and shoes industry (earnings) 

Holders on (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 

Blacksmiths (Ship Yards, Delaware River) 



106 
111 
112 
113 
113 

114 
115 
116 



123 
124 
125 
126 
129 

130 
134 
136 
137 
139 

140 

144 
144 
144 
144 

147 
149 
153 
157 
160 
161 
165 
165 
165 
165 
167 

167 

167 
170 
175 
176 

177 
197 
205 



104 APPENDIX B 

The tables and graphs clearly illustrate what has already been said 
relative to the effect of the industrial pressure of the war upon wages, 
both before and since the entrance of our country into the conflict. 
This may be readily seen from a classification of occupations and in- 
dustries according to relative wage increases. The following group of 
industrial workers, for example, have now earnings 40 per cent or 
more greater than in 1911-1912: 

Navy Yards, Philadelphia 
Shipfitters 
Pipefitters 

Bituminous Coal Mines, Hocking Valley District 
Pick miners, bituminous 
Machine miners, bituminous 
Inside mine laborers, bituminous 

Ship Yards, San Francisco, Calif. 

Riveters, chippers, and caulkers 

Blacksmiths 

Machinists 

Electricians 

Sheet-metal workers 

Shipwrights, joiners, boatmen and millmen 

Iron and steel workers 
Blast furnaces 
Open hearth furnaces 
Common laborers 

Longshoremen 

The following classes of wage-earners show advances in compensation 
of 20 per cent or more, but less than 40 per cent. 

Building trades 

Structural iron workers 
Plumbers and gasfitters 
Sheet metal workers 
Inside wiremen 

Anthracite coal mine workers 

Navy Yards, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Machinists 
Shipsmiths 

Railroad shops, southeastern territory 
Blacksmiths 
Machinists 
Boilermakers 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 



105 



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106 



APPENDIX B 




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TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 



107 



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108 APPENDIX B 

In the case of the following groups of wage-earners, the advance in 
their rates of pay since 1911-1912 was less than 20 per cent. 

Compositors and linotype operators (newspapers) 

Electrotypers (finishers) 

Hod carriers (plaster tending) 

Steamfitters (building trades) 

Motormen and conductors (street railways) 

The most pronounced advances in compensation since 1911-1912 
have therefore been characteristic of workmen engaged in the con- 
struction, repair of and loading of ships, the mining of coal, and in the 
production and finishing of iron and steel products. The groups of 
wage-earners which have received the smallest increases in compensation 
have been those in certain occupations in the building and printing trades, 
and those employed to operate street railways. 

The same trend in wage increases is also observable in the period since 
1914-1915. In addition to the industries already mentioned in the pre- 
ceding period, the workers in silk, cotton, woolen, and hosiery and under- 
wear mills, and in boot and shoe factories, are shown to have received 
an advance in earnings amounting to 40 per cent or more. 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 109 

HOURS OF LABOR AND PAYMENT FOR OVERTIME. 

Wage changes are not entirely measured by increased hourly or daily 
rates. Changes in hours of labor and in the systems of overtime pay- 
ment are also of much significance. 

It is a fundamental policy of trade unionism to fix maximum working 
hours and to require excess payment, say \}4 or 2 times the regular rate, 
for any excess over these hours. The purpose of this is primarily puni- 
tive — to deter the employer from extending the regular hours of labor. 
In the unorganized trades excess payment for overtime is rarely made, 
and thus, in times of business activity, such as the present, there is no 
particular deterrent upon long hours. 

During the period under review in this study, past movements towards 
shorter hours continued among the organized trades and was greatly 
accelerated by the fact that Government contracts called for the 8-hour 
day. 

In the Government navy yards, of course, the 8-hour day had been in 
force for many years. In the shipyards the 8-hour day has now become 
almost universal because of Government contracts and the commandeer- 
ing by the Government of vessels under construction. In both the 
navy yards and shipyards time and one-half for ordinary overtime is 
in effect. 

The coal mining industry is now, generally, on an 8-hour day basis. 
This has been the rule in the organized bituminous fields for a number 
of years. In the anthracite fields, time workers were employed on a 
nominal 10-hour basis prior to the award of the 1903 Coal Strike Com- 
mission, which reduced the working day to 9 hours. This remained in 
force until 1916, when by the agreement of that year, the basic 8-hour 
day was extended to all time workers, with few exceptions. 

The organized building trades have continued their progress toward 
a 44-hour week — i. e., 5 full 8-hour days and a half day Saturday — with 
a few trades, notably, the plasterers, tending toward a 5-hour day. The 
general movement is clearly brought out in the following statement: 

There are a total of 248 local unions representing 11 building trades 
listed in Part II of this study. Of these 248 locals, 120 had a maximum 
of 48 hours per week or more in 1911 as against only 39 in 1917, who had 
a week as long as 48 hours. Again, in 1911 there were only 116 of the 
248 locals with a maximum week of 44 hours or less as against 205 in 
1917 on a basis of 44 hours or less per week. 

The following extracts from the Monthly Review of the United States 
Bureau of Labor Statistics for October, 1915, and February, 1916, 
indicate the progress made toward the 8-hour day in the machine trades 
during the period immediately before the entrance of the United States 
into the war. Subsequent to this country's entrance into the war, fn 
the spring of 1917, this movement has been accelerated because of the 
huge Government contracts with their 8-hour provisions. 



110 



APPENDIX B 



MOVEMENT FOR REDUCTION OF HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MACHINE 
TRADES. 



(United States Bureau 



of Labor Statistics. 
October, 1915.) 



Monthly Review. 



A movement for the reduction of hours of labor, notable for its rapid 
progress, is that which has taken place in the machine trades within the 
last few months. It has chiefly affected the firms having contracts for the 
making of war munitions, though not exclusively restricted to such 
establishments. The demands for reduced hours have usually come 
from the machinists, although other occupations have joined, and in most 
establishments all employes have received the benefits which have 
been granted to the machinists. Reduced hours of labor have in all 
cases been effected with no reduction in weekly wage and in many cases 
with increased wages. 

A partial list of the firms which have established the 8-hour day within 
the past two months has been furnished the bureau by the International 
Association of Machinists. The following firms have established an 
8-hour day, these in most cases involving a reduction of 7 hours in the 
working week. These changes, it should be stated, were made without 
a strike except in five firms. 



Ansonia, Conn: 

O. K. Tool Holder Co. 
Bridgeport, Conn. 

American-British Manufacturing 

Co. 

Batcheller Corset Co. 

Bridgeport Body Co. 

Bridgeport Brass Co. 

Bridgeport Metal Goods Co. 

Bryant Electric Co. 

Bullard Machine Co. 

Burns & Bassick Co. 

Crawford Laundry. 

Electric Cable Co. 

Grant Manufacturing Co. 

Harris Engineering Co. 

Harvey Hubble Co. 

Hawthorne Co. 

International Silver Co. 

Locomobile Company of America. 

Remington Arms Co. 

Remington LTnion Metallic Car- 
tridge Co. 

Sprague Motor Co. 

Standard Manufacturing Co. 

Wa/ner Corset Co. 

Wolverine Motor Co. 



Chicago, 111.: 

Automatic Electric Co. 
Plainfield, N. J.: 

Bosch Magneto Co. 

Pond Machine Tool Co. 

Potter Press Co. 

Sauer Motor Truck Co. 

Scott Printing Press Co. 

Vitaphone Co. 

Hall Printing Press Co. 
Raleigh, N. C: 

Raleigh Iron Works. 
Springfield, Mass.: 

Bosch Magneto Co. 

Westinghouse Co. 
Taunton, Mass.: 

Call & Carr Co. 

Mason Machine Co. 

Miehle Printing Press Co. 
Toledo, Ohio: 

Bunting Brass & Bronze Co. 

Toledo Machine & Tool Co. 

Willys-Overland Car Co. 

Du Pont Powder W 7 orks of Wil- 
mington, Del., and other 
points. 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 



Ill 



The following firms have established a 54-hour week, reducing hours 
from 55, 58, and in some cases 60 per week: 



Springfield, Mass.: 

Handee Motorcycle Co. 
Taunton, Mass.: 

Bell & Dyer Co. 

Evans Machine & Stamping Co. 

Lincoln & Williams Twist Drill 
Co. 



Vans Machine & Stamping Co. 
Toledo, Ohio: 

Acklyn Stamping Co. 

Advance Machine Co. 

Toledo Electro Plating Co. 
Derby, Conn.: 

Dairy Machine Co. 



REDUCTION OF HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MACHINE TRADES. 

(United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly Review. 
February, 1916.) 

A movement for the reduction of hours of labor, notable for its rapid 
progress, has taken place in the machine trades since late in the summer 
of 1915 * * * * 

A partial list of the firms which had established the 8-hour day or 
granted a reduction in hours up to the middle of September was pub- 
lished in the October, 1915, issue of the Review. The International 
Association of Machinists has furnished the bureau a list supplementing 
the earlier list of firms which had granted reductions of hours up to the 
end of 1915. The following firms have established an 8-hour day, with 
reduction in most cases of 7 hours in a working week. 



Bridgeport, Conn.: 

American Graphophone Co. 

Lake Torpedo Boat Co. 
Meriden, Conn.: 

New England Westinghouse Co. 
New Haven, Conn.: 

Geometric Tool Co. 
Sheldon, Conn.: 

The R. N. Basset Shop. 
Wilmington, Del.: 

Vogel Machine Co. 
Chicago, 111.: 

Stewart Warner Speedometer Co. 

Western Electric Co. 
Baton Rouge, La.: 

Standard Oil Co. 
Baltimore, Md.: 

Pool Engineering Co. 

Universal Machine Co. 
Lowell, Mass.: 

Heinze Electric Co. 

U. S. Cartridge Co. 
Springfield, Mass.: 

Barley Machine Co. 

Barney & Berry (inc.) : 

Bausch Machine Tool Co. 

Bay State Corset Co. 



Blake Machine Co. 

Duckworth Chain Co. 

Gilbert & Barker Co. 

Hendee Motorcycle Co. 

Kibbie Candy Co. 

Knox Automobile Co. 

Knox Motor Co. 

National Equipment Co. 

Package Machinery Co. 

Rider Bagg Co. 

Russell Machine Co. 

Stacy Machine Co. 

United States Saw Co. 
Detroit, Mich.: 

Siewek Bros. 

The Studebaker Corporation. 
Camden, N. J.: 

Victor Talking Machine Co. 
Garwood, N. J.: 

Bell Electric Co. 

Hyatt Roller and Bearing Co. 
Perth Amboy, N. J.: 

AmericanSmelting&RefiningCo 

Annes-Potter Brick Co. 

Barber Asphalt Co. 

Lyons-Flynn Co. 

Perth Amboy Dry Dock. 



112 



APPENDIX B 



Raritan Dry Dock Co. 

Raritan Copper Works. 

R.&H. Chemical Co. 

Shantz & Exkert. 

Standard Cable Co. 

Union Lead Co. 

United States Cartridge Co. 

Patrick Whites. 
Plainfield, N. J.: 

Manganese Steel Safe Co. 
South Plainfield, N. Y.: 

Spicer Manufacturing Co. 
Trenton, N. J. : 

J. L. Mott. 

Harry Stahl. " 

E. Wilkes. 
New York City and vicinity: 

Adriance Machine Co. 

Acme Die Casting Co. 

Auto Press Co. 

Blair Machine Co. 

Bliss Manufacturing Co. 

Cameron Machine Co. 

Carpenter Tool Co. 

Hoe Printing Press Co. 

Doehler Die Casting Co. 

W. W. Kellog Co. 

Notham Manufacturing Co. (49 
hours.) 



Rockwell Engineering Co. 

Schroeder Machine Co. 

Sperry Gyroscope Co. 

Wappler's Electric Co. 
Cincinnati, Ohio: 

United States Printing & Litho- 
graph Co. 

United States Playing Card Co. 
Cleveland, Ohio: 

Cleveland Automatic Co. 

F. B. Sterns Auto Mfg. Co. 

Sewer & Morgan Co. 
Springfield, Ohio: 

Springfield Machine Tool Co. 
Toledo, Ohio: 

American Can Co. 

Bock Bearing Co. 

City Machine Tool Co. 

Consolidated Manufacturing Co. 

O'Neill Machine Co. 
Youngstown, Ohio: 

William Todd Co. 
Pittsburgh, Pa.: 

Pittsburgh Machine Tool Co. 
Providence, R. I.: 

Providence Engineering Co. 
Milwaukee, Wis.: 

Milwaukee Die & Casting Co. 
(44 hours a week.) 



The following firms have granted reductions in hours, although the 
hours are still somewhat in excess of the straight 8-hour day: 

Forty-nine and one-half hours per week. 
Columbus, Ohio. — Hearne Manufacturing Co., Rudd Manufacturing 
Co., Shiriner Co., Modern Tool & Die Co. 

Fifty hours per week. 
Connecticut. — New Departure Roller Bearing Co., Bristol; Birming- 
ham Foundry & Machine Co., Derby. New Jersey. — Wickes Bros., 
Jersey City; J. A. Roebling Co., Trenton. New York City and vicinity. 
— Davis Bourville Co. 

Fifty-four hours per week. 

Connecticut. — Hendee Machine Co., Torrington. Pennsylvania. — 
Westinghouse Co., East Pittsburgh. 

An excellent statement of the 8-hour movement during the war period 
is made in the following extract from the brief, "The case for a shorter 
work day," prepared under the direction of Messrs. Louis D. Brandeis 
and Felix Frankfurter, and Miss Pauline Goldmark, and submitted 
at the October, 1915, term of the Supreme Court of the United States 
(Volume II., pp. 933 and 934). 1 



1 The complete extract is taken from an article in the Survey. April 
Spread of the Eight Hour Day." 



1916, entitled "The Sudden 



TREND OF WAGES, 1911-1917. 113 

Twenty-five years ago in England, the skilled mechanic was building 
his Utopia out of "eight hours for work, eight hours for play, eight hours 
for sleep and eight bobs a day. " In America this movement has lagged 
among the machinists. At the outset of the war, the skilled men, 
though they had their two dollars a day or more, had by no means reduced 
their working day to eight hours. In the last twenty months, however, 
they have done more to effect that standard than in the twenty-five 
years preceding the war. 

On January 1, 1915, only 7,000 members of the International Asso- 
ciation of Machinists were working the eight-hour day; on January 1, 
1916, 60,000 men were working eight hours. • 

The awakening of the machinists seems to have come first to public 
notice in March, 1915, when there was a slight stir in Worcester, 
Mass., and scores of machinists were reported as joining the local union. 
In August the movement was well on its way. In September, even the 
corset manufacturers in Bridgeport, Conn., and that neighborhood, 
beginning to feel the pressure from the demand for labor in the muni- 
tions plants, shortened the working day of the girls to eight a day. In 
the last six months, the movement has swept not only through the 
munitions plants and the corset factories, but through automobile and 
motorcycle works, paper mills and skate making establishments, the 
garment trades, and shops making musical instruments. 

Centers where sudden and wholesale changes have occurred, which 
are easily traceable through the newspaper accounts, are Bridgeport, 
Conn., where more than fifteen firms reduced hours; Perth Amboy, 
New Jersey, from which came the nonchalant report that after strikes 
in twenty-one shops, thirteen shops conceded immediately; Springfield, 
Mass., Plainfield and Bayonne, New Jersey. In Wilmington, Del., the 
shorter work day was granted to the employes of the Du Pont Powder 
factory, and the Gulf Refining Company in Port Arthur, Texas, gave 
it to 2,125 men. Fourteen or more small firms followed the movement 
in New York City. In Toledo, Ohio, the three largest firms to fall into 
line were the Willys-Overland Automobile Co., the Bunting Brass and 
Bronze Company, and the Toledo Machine and Tool Company. 

Aside from a few scattered changes in the south and middle west, 
the war demand has made itself felt most widely in the sea board states. 
In these states official returns as to the extent of the movement are 
obtainable. The Department of Labor of New Jersey reported that 
25,395 persons in twenty- four various plants of that state had for the 
first time benefitted during the past year by the eight-hour day. Out 
of all these, only one firm, the Victor Talking Machine Company, 
employing 7,500 men and women, is not "engaged in the production 
of one or another kind of war material for the European belligerents." 
The New York Department of Labor reported gains by 850 metal workers 
and 850 magneto workers in the city of New York. The Connecticut 
Bureau of Labor estimated that 30,000 machinists in the munitions 
plants alone were affected. 



APPENDIX C. 

CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY 

The brief in the case of Bunting v. The State of Oregon in the Supreme 
Court of the United States in 1915 is an exposition of the experience 
which demonstrates the wisdom of the shorter work day, and constitutes 
a complete reply to those who deny the necessity for limiting the hours 
of labor. There are menaces to vitality of the workingman lurking in 
the industrial processes of today. Long hours in intensifying fatigue and 
leading to exhaustion, lower resistance to disease of every kind, injure 
the health in general, impair the functions of the eyes and ears, affect all 
organs of the body and increase the mortality in the middle years of life. 

GENERAL SUMMARY 

Certain health hazards in modern industry call for the shortening of 
the hours of work. The speeding up of modern industry, the monotony 
of machine operation, the unnatural stimulus of piece work constitute 
the strain of modern industry. Bad air, humidity, extremes of tempera- 
ture, noise of machinery, exposure to dust, gas, fumes and poisons are 
all elements which indicate a need for lengthening the hours of rest. 

Fatigue is a chemical process, and an overtired person is literally 
a person poisoned by his own waste products. Work performed after 
fatigue has set in increases the hazards to health. Hence there is need 
to shorten hours of labor in order that the worker may maintain himself 
in a state of full efficiency. 

Additional reasons for -limiting the hours of labor are the increased 
danger of accident arising from the effects of fatigue, general loss of 
moral restraint and increase of intemperance due to the same cause. 
Finally family and community life are sacrificed by excessive hours of 
labor. Neither leisure nor energy are left to the worker of long hours to 
share in the family and community life. 

On the other hand shorter hours of labor bring physical and moral 
benefits; strengthen the growth of temperance, provide a margin of 
leisure and recreation which are the real tests of an advancing civiliza- 
tion ; raise the general standards of living with a consequent benefit to 
society, and a greater inclination on the part of the worker, because of 
increased periods of leisure, to take advantage of opportunities for self- 
improvement and legitimate enjoyment. The welfare and safety of 
democracy rest upon the character and intelligence of its citizens, and 
for the development of morals and intelligence leisure is necessary ; hence 
it is essential to limit hours of labor in order that the worker may not 
be too exhausted to enjoy and make use of that leisure. 

Shortening the hours of labor is in the interest of the more rapid 
Americanization of the immigrant. The "whole program of American- 
ization is impossible unless sufficient leisure is provided after working 
hours to enable the workers to take advantage of the opportunities 
offered." 
114 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 115 

The only protection to the worker lies in the shorter work day because 
"industries not intrinsically dangerous and conducted under good sanitary 
conditions may become harmful through sheer lengthening of the work- 
ing hours. Even the lightest work becomes totally exhausting when car- 
ried on for excessive length of time." 

The universal experience of those manufacturing countries which have 
longest had the short working day indicates that commercial prosperity 
is not hampered by the curtailment of hours, but, on the contrary, the 
increased efficiency of the workers due to shorter working hours, to- 
gether with general improvement of industrial communities in physique 
and morals, reacts favorably upon output. An abundance of testimony, 
covering experience in the United States, tends to show that shorter 
hours heighten efficiency, which springs from improved physical health 
and energy, together with a change of attitude toward work and em- 
ployers. The curtailment of hours acts as a stimulus to heightened effi- 
ciency on the part of employers, leading them to lessen or eliminate "lost 
time" by securing a steadier flow of work and materials through the 
factory. 

To refute the impression held by some that the short working day has 
tended to increase the cost of production, two facts may be stated : First, 
the labor cost is only one item, and often a small item, in the total cost of 
manufacture ; and, second, heightened efficiency of both employers and 
workers under shorter hours stimulates output and thus tends to equalize 
or even decrease the total costs. 

Short hours bear a definite and favorable relation to wages, which 
tends to show that wages in industries in which the short work day has 
been established are almost universally higher than they are in wholly 
unregulated trades. "Moreover, even when the shorter day has resulted 
in a slight temporary decrease in wages, the majority of workers have 
willingly suffered the reduction, in order to gain the increased health and 
leisure consequent upon shorter hours of labor." 

Regularity of employment is another benefit derived from # shorter 
hours, for "in place of alternating periods of intense overwork and periods 
of idleness, employers have found it possible to distribute work more 
evenly throughout the year." Considerable statistical evidence is avail- 
able showing that in certain important manufacturing industries a trend 
toward shorter hours of labor is manifest, and the spread of the ten- 
dency to reduce hours in the United States during 1915 is indicated by 
reference to the many establishments which have inaugurated the eight- 
hour day. 

MENACES TO NATIONAL VITALITY. 

The stress and strain of modern industry contain menaces to the vi- 
tality of the nation. These menaces are observed in an increase in the 
so-called degenerative diseases of the heart, blood vessels and kidneys, 
in cancer, and in the apparently weakened power of resistance to such 
diseases in the middle aged. This increase is not confined to any par- 
ticular occupation, but is confined to the middle years of life, the period 
of greatest industrial activity. While the death rate of children and 
young persons is being cut down, the rate for those who have reached 



116 



APPENDIX C 



middle life is increasing' unduly: the difference is not improbably due to 
the greater strain and stress of modern life, including under that term, 
hours of labor, environment, dust, fumes and vapors produced by the 
work and lowering resistance to disease. 

The array of authorities, can not be mentioned in detail. It suffices 
to quote from a few of the more prominent. 

Mr. F. L. Hoffman, Statistician of the Prudential Life Insurance 
Company, in a study of mortality statistics of four leading cities from 
1815 to 1914 notes the increase of mortality from heart diseases from 
103.7 in 100,000 of population (1864-1888) to 164.6 (1889-1913) ; from 
nephritis, from 78.7 to 131.7 — in the four leading cities of New York, 
Boston, Philadelphia and New Orleans, (pages 23 and 24.) 

Dr. L. I. Dublin, Statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- 
pany, presents statistics (p. 41) to show an increase in death from can- 
cer between 1900 and 1910 of 30.6 per cent; from diabetes, of 60 per 
cent; organic diseases of the heart, 39.3 per cent; disease of the arteries, 
396.2 per cent. The factors contributing to middle age mortality "are the 
effects upon the body of the habits and conditions of work." (p. 43.) 

"It requires no very extensive investigation," Mr. Hoffman also states, 
"however, to establish the fact that a very considerable amount of the 
prevailing sickness is strictly preventable and due in a large measure to 
unhygienic conditions of factory life or trades generally." (p. 50.) 

An analysis of the general mortality statistics for the registration area 
of the United States as presented by the Federal Bureau of the Census 
shows the following for the year 1909 (p. 14) : 



MORTALITY AMONG OCCUPIED MALES. 





Those in Those in 131 
Agricultural Pursuits Trades and Callings 


Deaths from preventable causes (6.7 


Of all deaths 

27.4% 

26.5% 
35.9% 


Of all deaths 

43.0% 

31.0% 
13.4% 


Deaths from Degenerative diseases 

(under 70 years of age) 

Total deaths after 70 years of age.. 



DANGERS OF LONG HOURS. 



Recent investigations show that not only in dangerous trades but also 
in all industries a permanent predisposition to disease and premature 
death exist in the common phenomenon of fatigue and exhaustion. Says 
Dr. Kober in Bulletin 75 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Industrial 
Hygiene : 

"One of the predisposing causes to disease is overwork or fatigue (p. 536) ; 
* * * statistics of the morbidity and mortality of various occupations * * * 
indicate that persons habitually engaged in hard work are more frequently sub- 
ject to disease and present a higher mortality rate than persons more favorably 
situated ; that industrial workers pay a heavy tribute to the so-called 'white plague.' 
(p. 535.)" "A typical succession of events "is first fatigue, then colds, then tuber- 
culosis, then death. Prevention to be effective must begin at the beginning." 
(Bulletin of the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, Washington, 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 117 

1909, p. 47.) "Industrial insurance companies," states Dr. Rubinow, formerly 
statistician of the Ocean Accident and Life Insurance Co., "show a very much 
higher mortality rate than ordinary insurance companies." 

Overfatigue predisposes to the infectious as well as to general dis- 
ease. "It has been shown experimentally," states Dr. Kober (p. 79), 
"that of two groups of animals, the one resting and the other fatigued by 
muscular work and both inoculated by pathogenic bacteria, the fatigued 
animals * * * succumb to the disease in larger numbers." 

Fatigue predisposes workers to nervous diseases. The Federal Public 
Health Service finds that nervous affections, particularly neurasthenia, 
are common among garment workers (p. 91). 

Employers also testify to the injurious effect of long hours upon gen- 
eral health. William B. Dickson, former vice-president of the U. S. 
Steel Corporation states: "In my judgment a large proportion of the 
steel workers, who from early manhood, work twelve hours a day, are old 
men at forty." (p. 131.) In the rules of its pension department the 
American Steel and WHre Co. provides that "no inexperienced person 
over 35 years of age and no experienced person over 45 years of age 
shall hereafter be taken into the employ of the company." This rule 
may be suspended in the case of professional services. This shows that 
the company had expectation of physical deterioration on the part of 
mill workers at an age when professional men are considered capable of 
discharging their duties, (p. 137.) 

HEALTH HAZARDS IN MODERN INDUSTRY. 

It is hardly necessary to cite the array of authorities who have pointed 
out the new and varying forms of hazards which are features of modern 
industry. It should suffice to mention the well-known dangers charac- 
teristic of industrial life. These are not matters of statistical tabulation, 
but of common observation. Machinery is increasingly speeded up, the 
number of machines tended by individual workers grows larger, processes 
become more complex, and more operations are performed simultaneously 
by the workman, Says Mr. Dublin, Statistician of the Metropolitan Life 
Insurance Company, "The unceasing whirl of high speeded machinery, 
the persistent noises of the shop and the necessary nervous accommoda- 
tion to the rapid movements of the machines result after long periods of 
time, in distinct psychoses" (p. 194), which in turn "may result ultimately 
in distinct lesions of the heart and kidneys." Declares the New York 
Bureau of Labor Statistics : "Even the ten hour day * * * has now 
become too long a period of work on account of the increasing intensity 
of application." ( p. 195 .) 

Monotony in industrial processes is growing, and is greatly intensified 
by the piece work system. "I have in my clinical experience," says Dr. 
Schwab of St. Louis University (p. 227), "sufficient evidence, * * * 
to suggest that the piece work system is in some instances a very direct 
cause in the production of a neurasthenic condition in a worker" in the 
garment industry, while another doctor characterizes it as "one of the 
frequent factors in the production of excessive industrial fatigue" — and 
states that "its evils are most potent when combined with long hours." 
(P. 229.) 



118 APPENDIX C 

Injurious physical surroundings constitute a hazard in some indus- 
tries. These include bad air, humidity, extremes of heat and cold, noise, 
bad lighting, vibration, etc. Each of these hazards is not confined to 
any particular dangerous trade; any one or even all may be found in 
so-called non-hazardous trades, as for example, cotton spinning. Work- 
ers in cotton manufacturing are exposed to the danger of inhaling dust 
and fluff; they are subject to heat and humidity, great noise, lack of 
ventilation, vibration of machinery and nauseating odors. A recent re- 
port of the Public Health Service notes that "these conditions are so 
obviouslv causing disease and are so prevalent in many industries and 
causing so much direct injury to the workers that the general public 
have come to consider these as the full extent of the damages for which 
industrial conditions are responsible." (p. 248.) 

Temperatures varying from 90 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit have been 
observed in various work places: starching and ironing in laundries, 95; 
tending electric furnaces, 100-120; vulcanizing and japanning, 90; evap- 
orating rooms of sugar refineries, 110-115; and bakeries, 90. 

NATURE AND EFFECTS OF FATIGUE.] 

The new and accepted theory regarding fatigue is that it is a chemical 
process, the natural result of bodily and mental exhaustion becoming ab- 
normal when excessive or resulting in exhaustion. 

The onset of fatigue may be thus described : 

Two processes are continually carried on in the living body : assimila- 
tion or building up; disassimilation or breaking down material into 
simpler chemical form, ultimately expelled as waste products. Upon 
these two processes together, known as metabolism, life itself depends, 
and to this fundamental basis of life we must turn for an explanation of 
what fatigue is. 

During activity, the products of chemical change increase. An over- 
tired person is literally a poisoned person, poisoned by his own waste 
products. These wastes are poisonous impurities arising from the chem- 
ical processes of cellular life. They circulate in the blood, poisoning 
brain and nervous system, muscles, glands, and other organs until nor- 
mally burned up by the oxygen brough by the blood, removed by the liver 
or kidneys, or eliminated through the lungs. 

When these waste products accumulate in the blood, fatigue ensues. 
When they exceed their physiological or normal amount, exhaustion re- 
sults and health is impaired. After excessive labor there is also a con- 
sumption of energy-yielding material, essential for activity. The proc- 
esses of disassimilation are in excess of those of assimilation, (pages 
265-266.) 

The need of limiting excessive hours of work is also emphasized by 
recent medical research, which asserts that fatigue is due not only to 
actual poisoning but to a specific poison or toxin of fatigue. When this 
fatigue toxin is injected into animals in large amounts it even causes 
death. 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 119 

In order to repair the energy expended as a result of muscular and 
nervous fatigue, rest is absolutely essential. When an individual has 
worked to exhaustion through excessive hours of labor normal rest does 
not suffice for repair. He has literally "used himself up." 

Emphasis is laid upon the need of limiting excessive working hours 
because of the increased danger from accidents arising from the different 
effects of fatigue. 

BAD EFFECTS OF LONG HOURS UPON MORALS. 

As early as 1850 a special committee on the limitation of hours of work 
in Massachusetts declared that excessive labor not only debilitates the 
body, and thereby exposes it to disease, but also tends to exhaust the 
mental powers and thus expose the whole moral and intellectual char- 
acter to undue and dangerous depression, (pages 408-409.) 

When the working day is so long that no time is left for a minimum 
of leisure and recreation, relief from the strain of work is often sought 
in alcoholic stimulants. Among industrial workers the desire for drink 
is often due to the physical incidents of factory work, such as exposure 
to extreme heat, or the inhalation of dust or fluff in the many trades in- 
volving such hazards. Intemperance often results also from the worker's 
craving for some stimulant or support for exhausted energies, (p. 414.) 

It seems hardly necessary to quote extended authority in support of 
these assertions, so obvious do they seem. However, John Fitch in writ- 
ing of the steel workers in 1910 notes that the only men whom he found 
in a state of intoxication when looked for at their homes were blast fur- 
nace men, "men who had been working for months without a holiday or 
a Sunday." The Bureau of Labor Statistics of New York declared in 
1900 that "excessive work and long hours are the causes that have pow- 
erfully promoted the use of stimulants and intoxicating liquors." (p. 416.) 

Dr. Nathan Schwartz, of the New York Department of Labor, notes 
(September, 1915) that workers naturally and inevitably resort to liquors 
to overcome the sense of drowsiness which becomes chronic with ex- 
cessive fatigue. 

BAD EFFECT OF LONG HOURS ON GENERAL WELFARE. 

What it means in an economic sense to preserve the health of the citi- 
zen on the part of the State may be set forth in the following facts pre- 
sented in a study by Mr. Hoffman of the mortality from consumption 
in the dusty trades, for the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (1908.) 

"Since the average age at death of persons 15 years of age or over dying from 
consumption in the registration area of the United States is 37.4 years and 
probably not much more than 32 years for persons employed in strictly dusty trades, 
and since the normal average age at death in the mortality from all causes for per- 
sons 15 years of age or over is 52.8 years, there would be an average expected gain of 
at least 15.4 years of life for every death from consumption avoided by rational 
conditions of industrial life. Such a gain would represent a total of 342,465 years 
of additional lifetime, and by just so much the industrial efficiency of the American 
nation would be increased. If we place the economic value or net result of a year's 
lifetime at only $200, the total average economic gain to the nation would be 



120 APPENDIX C 

$3,080 for every avoidable death of a wage-earner from consumptio: , representing 
the enormous total of $6R,493,000 as the aggregate annual financial value in the 
probable saving in years of adult human life. With such results clearly within 
the range of practical attainment, nothing within reason should he left undone as 
a national, state, and individual, or social duty to prevent that needless, but now 
enormous, loss of human life from consumption due to unfavorable conditions in 
American industry." (p. 435.) 

Not only, therefore, is there an economic loss to society in shortening the life of 
its industrial workers, but there is also a social loss. Family life, essential to the 
welfare of the nation, is destroyed. This must necessarily react disastrously upon 
the community as well as upon the individual. For the deterioration of any large 
portion of the population inevitably lowers the entire community physically, men- 
tally and morally. One of the largest paper manufacturers in America, Mr. Charles 
Sumner Bird, declares that long hours of labor are intolerable, and, in many ways 
"as dangerous to the welfare of the nation as was the slavery of the black race: 
the men employed for such long hours are taxed beyond their strength and the 
physical exhaustion, day after day, week after week, soon results in a lower 
standard of life. No time or energy is left for the development of the healthy 
home life essential to the welfare of the nation." (p. 453.) 



BENEFITS OF SHORTER HOURS. 

Abundant evidence is presented (pp. 461-477) to show the benefits 
of the shorter work day in reducing intemperance ; in raising the stand- 
ard of livng; and allowing play to leisure and recreation. Professor 
Taussig, now Chairman of the Tariff Commission, wrote in 1904 : 

Shorter hours of work are a natural and beneficent outcome of the forces of 
civilization. The great mass of men need not only an increase of income, but an 
increase of leisure, — leisure for rest, for play, for education, for happier and 
higher living. No doubt leisure is sometimes abused; but in the main it is a 
needed means of raising the sum of happiness. Therefore, the short hour move- 
ment should have the sympathy of every friend of humanity, (p. 500.) 

The greater opportunities for self-improvement and legitimate enjoy- 
ment are evidenced in the rapid increase of large expenditures for pub- 
lic recreation and of new opportunities for popular education, evening 
lectures in connection with the public school system and extension classes 
of the large universities. This is emphasized by Marcus M. Marks, 
president National Association of Clothing Manufacturers: 

There is another consideration which prompts the demand on the part of labor 
for a shorter work day; it is the greater desire for self-improvement. 

This has been encouraged by the advance in the public school of the system 
which affects our younger workmen in particular; also by the multiplication of 
popular free lectures, public libraries, cheap books and newspapers, etc., that have 
awakened in the workmen's minds the ambition to lead a better life, possible only 
in the enjoyment of a reasonable amount of leisure, (p. 507.) 



BENEFIT TO CITIZENSHIP AND MILITARY STRENGTH. 

Not merely is leisure necessary that the workman may take an in- 
creased enjoyment from life ; it is essential to his mental and moral 
equipment as a citizen of the United States. Leisure becomes, there- 
fore, a prime requisite for good citiznship. Hence it is to the interests 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 121 

of the State that individual labor should be limited, first, that leisure 
may be provided, outside of working hours; second, that workers shall 
not be too exhausted to make use of this leisure, "By a reasonable con- 
serving in the strength of the working population today may we be as- 
sured of a healthy, intelligent productive citizenship in the future," are the 
words of the Committee of Stockholders of the United States Steel Cor- 
poration, (p. 534.) This interest of the State in added leisure for good 
citizenship finds immediate and forceful application in the Americaniza- 
tion of the foreign born who come to this country to be Americanized; 
that is, give them opportunity for acquiring the ability to speak the Eng- 
lish language and to become acquainted with American institutions. 

Ignorance of the English language is the greatest obstacle to industrial ad- 
vancement. It prevents the distribution of congested immigrant populations. It 
increases the dangers of industrial accidents, injuries, and occupational diseases, 
owing to the immigrants' inability to understand orders or hygienic regulations 

printed or orally given in industrial establishments This whole 

program of Americanization is impossible unless sufficient leisure is provided after 
working hours to enable the workers to take advantage of the opportunities offered. 
The task of teaching adult foreigners a new language is rendered almost hope- 
less unless they can come to be taught with some freshness of mind. The project 
of Americanization is defeated when working hours are so long that no evening 
leisure is left or the immigrant workers are too much exhausted to make use of it. 

The State is dependent upon the quality of its citizens not only for 
its development in times of peace, but in the last resort for military de- 
fense. Former Secretary of War George W. Alger cites statistics 
(p. 604a) showing that in 1916 in the United States Marine Corps only 
one applicant out of eleven examined was accepted as fit, and that in 
New York City about three per cent of the eleven thousand and twelve 
men making application, were found fit for service. He continues as 
follows : 

The notion that preparedness is a mere military thing ... is a delusion. 
. . . Sweatshops, child labor, industrial anarchy held in check by martial law, 
the exploitation of the worker ... all these and a hundred others are true 
problems of preparedness which are today ignored, (pp. 604a, 604b.) 

SHORTER HOURS THE ONLY POSSIBLE PROTECTION. 

The policy of shorter hours is the only protection to the worker, be- 
cause "industries not intrinsically dangerous and conducted under good 
sanitary conditions may become harmful through sheer lengthening of 
the working hours. Even the lightest work becomes totally exhausting 
when carried on for excessive length of time," and a decrease of the in- 
tensity of exertion in industry is not believed to be feasible. "It is cer- 
tain that any program for reducing this intensity of exertion must fail," 
stated the Industrial Commission of 1900. (p. 614.) 

ECONOMIC ASPECT OF REDUCING HOURS. 

The Industrial Commission of 1900 was able to state that those indus- 
tries where the highest wages and fewest hours prevail are those in 



122 APPENDIX C 

which the United States excels in marketing its products in foreign 
markets. Hence, it cannot he said that commercial prosperity is ham- 
pered by the curtailment of hours. The increased efficiency of the 
workers due to shorter working hours reacts favorably upon output and 
heightens rather than impairs prosperity. The Commission continues : 
"A further reduction in hours will increase the efficiency of its labor and 
raise its intelligence." (p. 633.), 

Equally significant as is the benefit to commercial prosperity is the 
effect of reduced hours of labor upon production. While an abundance 
of evidence to this effect is found in the industrial experience of foreign 
countries, it is the testimony of those manufacturers in the United States 
who have reduced the work day that it reacts favorably upon output. 
This effect has been found to be true in the United States in the steel 
industry as well as in cotton manufacturing where the experiment of the 
shorter work day was first tried, in shoe manufacturing and flour milling, 
in woolen mills, in commercial establishments, in government ship con- 
struction work, and in granite cutting. The experience in the steel in- 
dustry may be cited at some length. 

The Commonwealth Steel Company, Granite City, Illinois, furnishes 
one of the only instances in this country in which an eight-hour shift 
has been substituted for a twelve-hour shift. 

1. The Open-hearth Department of the Commonwealth Steel Com- 
pany consists of four 25-ton basic open-hearth furnaces, three of which 
only are operated at any one time, and which directly require for their 
operation twenty-two men for two 12-hour shifts, or thirty-three men 
for three 8-hour shifts. The plant, as a whole, employs 2,300 workmen. 

2. The system was changed on February 5th, 1912, from a 12-hour, 
2-shift, system six days a week, to three shifts of eight hours each. 

3. The number of men on each shift (eleven men) remained un- 
changed in the open-hearth department, while in the boiler room only 
ten men were employed on the three 8-hour shifts in place of eight men 
on the two 12-hour shifts. 

4. An increase in the hourly rates for the men employed ranges from 
fourteen to twenty-two per cent, averaging about twenty per cent. 

5. Under the new arrangement, there was a slight decrease in the cost 
of production, owing to the higher efficiency under the 8-hour system, 
in spite of the increase in the hourly rates and the number of men 
employed. 

6. Reductions in the amount of extra pig iron charged and in the 
amount of fuel oil consumed obtained under the new system. These 
reductions were almost enough to pay for the additional labor employed. 

7. Also more accurate results were obtained in the quality of the cast- 
ings. The physical and chemical specifications were more accurate under 
the 8-hour system and the percentage of cracked castings was decidedly 
decreased. 

8. The workmen were satisfied with the change, although their earn- 
ings were about twenty per cent less under the* 8-hour system as com- 
pared with the 12-hour system. 

The superintendent, in his address before the Foundrymen's Associa- 
tion, made the following statement : 






CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 



123 



"Therefore, viewed from any conceivable angle, I claim the change is justifiable, 
and you will do well to make it, so far as your open-hearth furnaces are concerned. 
As to your boiler firemen, each operating head must decide for himself. In our 
particular case it appeared to be, and finally proved to be, advisable from every 
standpoint. Conditions in certain other boiler rooms are very different from ours, 
practically the entire evaporation taking place during the daylight hours in many 
of them. Since the results are of some interest, however, I have included the 
comparisons made in our power plant. Reverting finally to consideration of the 
steel maker, whose performance under both schedules is made the burden of this 
argument, the basic principle is absolutely sound, and rests on the incontrovertible 
fact that you can not expect any man to give you the best that is in him when you 
keep him employed without intermission for twelve hours per day, seven days per 
week, at work making a heavy demand upon his mental and physical powers, 
under conditions of high temperature such as obtain on a furnace floor. To expect 
the best results under such circumstances is folly, and to continue operating under, 
them spells, not the title of this paper, but the costly side of the 12-hour shift." 

OPEN HEARTH FURNACES 





Twelve Hour Shift 


Eight Hour Shift 


Average amount of extra pig iron charged 


556 pounds 

1,275 gallons 

55 gallons 

0.49 

28 minutes 

Correct per cent 
0.011 per cent 
0.022 per cent 
2 points under 
1 point over 
0.022 per cent 
0.025 per cent 

13 per cent over 
5.9 per cent over 
4.6 points over 
7.9 points over 

2.5 per cent under 

4.7 per cent under 

5 points under 

8.3 points under 


424 pounds 

1,138 gallons 

49 gallons 

0.37 

26.7 minutes 

Correct per cent 
0.011 per cent 
0.022 per cent 
Correct per cent 
Correct per cent 
0.018 per cent 
0.025 per cent 

15.5 per cent over 
5.8 per cent over 

4.1 points over 

7.2 points over 

7.7 per cent over 
1.4 per cent under 

3 points under 
7.6 points under 


Average amount of fuel oil consumed per 
heat 

Average amount of fuel oil consumed per 

ton of metal charged 

Average number of cracked castings per 


Average of longest intervals between re- 
versals of burners during 12 hour periods . 
Average of chemical analyses af all heats: 










Maximum phosphorus in any heat 

Maximum sulphur in any heat 

Average physical tests of all heats: 

Yield point per square inch. ' 

Tensile strength per square inch 




Minimum physical tests of any heat (not 
combined results of one bar, but indi- 
vidual minimums of results covering 
all bars) : 

Yield point per square inch. ._ 

Tensile strength per square inch 

Elongation in 2 inches 

Reduction of area 



The situation is summed up with the following sentence from Vol. 
3 of the steel report (1910) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 

"The trial of the 8-hour system in the steel foundry shows that the chief imme- 
diate results are secured through the fact that the men work together better and 
give much closer attention to their work when working eight hours than when 
working twelve hours a day." 



The experience of Ballard and Ballard, of Louisville, Kentucky, flour 
millers, is that their men turn out the same quantity and quality of out- 
put in eight hours per day as they formerly did in twelve hours ; "in 
dollars and cents — the change has been a profitable investment." (page 
720). 



124 APPENDIX C 

The experience with the reduced hours of labor has been of signifi- 
cance in the coal mining industry of the United States. The Industrial 
Commission of 1900 noted its occurrence in the bituminous coal mining 
industry as "the most important instance in recent years of the adoption 
of the eight-hour working day." The Commission continued as follows: 

"There is a general agreement that the fewer hours in the coal mines have in- 
creased the energy of the workmen, and that there has heen little or no decrease 
in the amount of work turned out during the day. The men are stimulated 'to 
do a good, honest 8 hours' work' ; the foremen do not find them asleep, as they 
used to, or lounging around or smoking." (Page 684.) 

During the two years 1895 and 1896, under the ten-hour system, the 
average output per working man per day in bituminous mining was 2.9 
and 2.72 tons; while in 1897, during the latter three months of which 
the eight-hour day prevailed, the corresponding output per man was 3.03 
tons per day ; and for 1898, 1899 and 1900 during three years of the 
eight-hour day the average output ranged from 2.98 to 3.09 tons. "Each 
year of the eight-hour day shows for the country as a whole a larger 
output per day for each workman than the highest output of the ten- 
hour day." 

This increased productivity of workers under shorter hours of labor 
is due to heightened efficiency. This efficiency arises from improved 
physical health and energy, from a change of attitude toward work and 
employer. There is greater promptness in starting in the morning and 
at noon, more interest and application on the part of the workers and 
the elimination of "soldiering" and lost time. 

Secretary of Commerce Redfield stated in 1914 that "long years ago, 
before the agitation for the reduction to the nine-hour day, my associate 
in business came to the conclusion that there was what he called 'a tired 
hour,' that it would be in his judgment undesirable and unprofitable to 
continue running the factory as long as it was then run." Instead of 
reducing their output by one-tenth, Mr. Redfield's Company found that 
it had increased its output more than one-tenth. Air. William B. Dixon, 
former Vice President of the United States Steel Corporation, believes 
that "the advantages to be derived from more efficient, because less ex- 
hausted, workmen, will, to a great extent offset whatever additional cost 
may be involved." (Page 71.) 

Not only is the efficiency of the worker increased by the introduction 
of the shorter working day, but it has heightened the efficiency on the 
part of employers. Management of industry has been improved by a 
new scrutiny of methods in organization and manufacture. In order to 
maintain output under shorter hours, improved machinery and new- 
processes of manufacture have been invented. The Industrial Commis- 
sion of 1900 notes "that the shortening of the working day in the mines 
has strengthened the motive to greater economy of time and better use 
of machinery and labor saving devices." The Wisconsin Bureau of Labor 
and Industrial Statistics states that the enforcing of a certain standard 
in regard to hours of labor, wages and sanitary conditions compels em- 
ployers continually to seek more improved machinery and methods of 
production. 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 



125 



RELATION OF SHORT HOURS TO COST OF PRODUCTION. 

The introduction of a shorter work day has not in the long run led 
to an increase in the cost of production, first because the labor cost is 
only one item and often a small item in the total cost of manufacturing, 
and second because of the heightened efficiency of both employers and 
workers under shorter hours as already pointed out. This has been the 
experience in the paper, woolen and cotton industries as revealed by the 
investigation of the United States Tariff Board ; also in the paper mills 
and probably also in the iron and steel industries, as investigated by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the paper and pulp industry former 
Chief Statistician N. I. Stone of the United States Tariff Board, states 
that it was found "that the mills paying the lowest wages and having a 
twelve-hour day had a higher labor cost per ton of paper than those 
paying the highest rates of wages and having an eight-hour day." 

In the iron and steel industry the Bureau of Labor Statistics disclosed 
after a careful investigation that a change from the twelve-hour to the 
eight-hour system would mean an increase of 2.6 per cent in the total 
cost of production per ton in blast furnace products. This estimate is, 
however, made on the assumption that efficiency would not be affected 
by the change. It also rests on the assumption that each workman in 
continuous process earned the same amount for eight hours' work that 
he received for twelve hours. If it were assumed that the workman 
would accept ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, the increase of the 
total cost of production per ton would be only 1.3 per cent. (Pages 
801-804.) 

The following table is presented to show the estimated increases in 
rates of wages per hour, cost of production and selling price necessary 
to introduce the eight-hour system in the blast furnaces, steel works, and 
rolling mills, on the basis that each workman in continuous processes 
earned the same amount for 8 hours' work that he now receives for 10 
hours and that productive efficiency was unchanged. 





Amount 
under 
12-hour 
system 


Amount 
under 
8-hour 
system 


Required 

Amount 


Increase 
Per cent 




$ 0.22 
4.22 
24.79 
34.24 


$ 0.26 
4.95 

25.52 
35.27 


$ 0.04 
.73 
.73 
1.03 


17.4 
17.4 
3.0 
3.0 


Labor cost of production per ton 

Total cost of production per ton 

Average selling price per ton 



LONG HOURS REDUCE EFFICIENCY. 

While shortening the hours of labor does not decrease output, nor 
materially increase the cost of production, long hours on the other hand, 
reduce efficiency and result in inferior output. Over fatigue results 
in spoiled work, and it is generally found that the output in last hours 
shows a steady and marked decline. 



126 APPENDIX C 



SHORTER HOURS IN RELATION TO WAGES AND REGULARITY 
OF EMPLOYMENT. 

There is no evidence to show that a reduction in the hours of lahor 
has meant a decrease in wages. On the contrary, all the evidence tends 
to establish the fact that wages are higher in industries where the short 
work day prevails, higher than in wholly unregulated trades. A move- 
ment for the reduction of hours in machine trades late in 1915 was ac- 
companied by no reduction in wages. In many cases there were increases 
in wages. 

Wherever hours of labor have been shortened employment has tended 
to greater regularity. Commons and Andrews in a recent volume on the 
Principles of Labor Legislation emphasize this fact as follows: 

Shorter hours likewise tend to steady employment. When no restrictions arc- 
placed on hours of work in a seasonal industry, the tendency is to concentrate 
the work in brief, busy season with long hours of overtime. Hour regulation 
except in the case of perishable products and those subject to change in fashion, 
forces a more even distribution of the work over a longer period. When the 
woman's eight-hour law was in force in Illinois factories inspectors noted "a 
greater uniformity of work and rest" as one of its results. (Page 877.) 

The investigation of the iron and steel industry by the United States 
Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1910 called attention to the large amount 
of overtime work and irregularity of operation in the industry, an 
irregularity greater than that of any of the larger manufacturing indus- 
tries whose demand is not seasonal. Both the overtime work and 
irregularity of operation are the result of running at top speed and under 
the heaviest pressure while there is an active demand for the particular 
products of any mill. The writers of the report of the Bureau note in 
this connection that "Some of the best managers assert that the losses 
from these causes more than counterbalance the gains secured during 
the months of rush work, and they are confident that they could make 
a better showing in economy of production for the year as a whole if 
the mills were operated regularly at a moderate pace." 

PROGRESS OF THE SHORTER DAY. 

During the latter part of 1915 and the first of 1916 the machine trades 
of the United States made a notable gain in shorter hours of labor. This 
movement in the reduction of hours affected mainly firms having con- 
tracts for the making of war munitions. The eight-hour day was also 
established among the clothing manufacturers of Chicago and in the 
shops of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Other industries have 
felt the reflex movement of shorter hours. 

Current statistics of the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in cer- 
tain manufacturing industries a trend for shorter hours of labor is mani- 
fested. For the men's clothing industry, full time hours per week in 
1914 were reduced 1 per cent over those prevailing in 1913; 6 per cent 
over 1912; 7 per cent over 1911. Full time hours per week in this in- 
dustry in 1914 varied from 44 to 60; and the average for most occupa- 



CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORK DAY. 127 

tions was 51 and 53. In that respect, hand cutters and machine cutters 
were the best situated, working- respectively 48.6 and 48.4 hours per 
week. In the hosiery and underwear industry in 1914 the average hours 
were 55 a week, which was a reduction of 5 per cent over hours pre- 
vailing in 1910 for 21 occupation-groups in the industry. 

In woolen goods the hours of labor per week have been reduced 3 
per cent in 1914 below the prevailing hours of 1910; the average weekly 
hours were generally 55. 

The tendency continued in 1914 toward a reduction of hours in the 
cotton goods manufacturing industry, being 3 per cent lower than in 
1911; the average hours per week being 56.5 for cotton goods manu- 
facturing and finishing. 

INSTANCES OF EXCESSIVE HOURS OF LABOR. 

While there has been a trend toward shorter hours in some important 
lines of industry, other industries are still operating twelve hours a' day 
or more. 

The investigation of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics 
showed that in 1910, 63 per cent of 31,000 men employed in blast fur- 
naces worked 84 hours and over per week ; that is, a twelve-hour day 
in a seven-day week. Nearly 43 per cent of 173,000 employees in the 
iron and steel industry were employed at least 72 hours per week. 

Certain industries among others are conspicuous in regard to the pro- 
portion of the total average number of wage-earners who work 72 hours 
or more per week. Thus in order of their position in that respect stand 
the following ten industries : 



INDUSTRIES 


Per cent wage earners working 

prevailing 72 hours and over 

per week 


Sugar and molasses (not including sugar refining) 


95.0 
86.0 

72.8 
76.4 
75.6 
65.5 
60.0 
57.8 
56.4 
44.3 
39.4 


Blast furnaces (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 






Oil, linseed 

Glucose and starch 


Sulphuric, nitric and mixed acids 

Cement 



In the wood pulp and paper industry the Tariff Board report (1911) 
showed that slightly over 15 per cent of the employees (7,616) covered 
by the investigation worked on a two-shift basis, i. e., a 12-hour day. 
According to the 13th (1909) Census figures, about 21 per cent in that 
industry worked 72 hours a week prevailingly. For the United States 
as a whole, therefore, it may be safe to estimate that 15 to 20 per cent 
of the employees in wood pulp and paper industry worked 72 hours or 
over a week. 

As calculated from reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 
60 per cent out of 459 employees who did overtime work in April, 1908, 
in telegraph offices had an overtime day of 12 hours or over. No figures 



128 APPENDIX C 

wore available as to how many days were worked at that rate during 
the year. It may, however, be added that about 24 per cent of the over- 
time workers during April, 1908, worked 50 or more hours during the 
month, that is, approximately two additional hours for each regular 
work day. 

CONCLUSION. 

Secretary of Commerce Redfield in emphasizing the State's need of 
preserving health, preventing the loss of human energy due to excessive 
working hours, states, that "The cry for shorter hours of labor ... is 
a normal protest against the fatigue that destroys." 

"The way to crime and chaos lies plainly in the exploitation of our men and 
our women as if they were coal or oil. In our free America there is to he indus- 
trial and social freedom. Out of the ferment of unrest there has already begun 
to come a truer sense of human values; a better adjustment of law to those values; 
a keener conscience as to the treatment of those values, and a conservation which 
shall not stop with saving water or wood, but will make its greatest and most 
fruitful task the conserving of our people themselves. . . ." (Page 429.) 



APPENDIX D 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE REQUIRED OF 
RAILWAY EMPLOYES 

Railroad Employes in Train and Engine Service sought the enact- 
ment of the Sixteen Hour Law because in many instances that period 
of service was exceeded. At the time the law was enacted (in 1908) 
it was the usage of many Railroads to "double out" the crew from the 
"away from home" terminal with the result that men were in service 
on the round-trip, usually to exceed sixteen hours. 

The efforts of railway employes to secure the enactment of this bill 
by Congress was vigorously opposed by practically all Railroads. Not- 
withstanding this opposition, the law was enacted. 

A peculiar effect of the law was to increase the usual period of 
service in that where trains once were able to get over the division (with 
light tonnage) in six, eight and ten hours, the practice has now been 
developed into what may be called a "sixteen hour day." 

As bad as was the practice during recent years, complaints began to 
reach us about the first day of January of the present year, that since 
the Government had taken over the operation of the railroads there was 
practically an abandonment of the law and many train crews were exceed- 
ing sixteen hours on duty and many others were almost reaching the 
sixteen hour limit. Under date of January 16th the following circular 
was issued: 

To all General and Local Chairmen. 
Sirs and Brothers: 

Complaints are reaching me from different sources which indicate that some 
railroads are deliberately violating the Sixteen-hour Law. Many other complaints 
received indicate that even though the Sixteen-hour Law is not violated the hours 
of service are becoming more excessive than at any previous time. 

In order that I may present this matter to a Commission which I understand will 
be appointed by the Director General of Railways I am asking you to make me a 
detailed report of excessive hours of service that have come under your observa- 
tion, for the accuracy of which you can vouch. 

Endeavor to give days and dates and numbers of engines and trains and names 
of engine crews in specific cases, in addition to communicating information on 
the general situation. 

This is an important matter and the interest of the men you represent demands 
that the information be furnished as soon as possible. 

Yours fraternally, 

W. S. Carter, President. 

On February 1st, but a few replies had been received, evidently be- 
cause an effort was being made by those addressed to carefully check 
their reports with the records of the railroads to eliminate any possible 
error. Of the few that were received at the time that the preparation 

129 



130 



APPENDIX D 



of this brief closed, the following" are here presented, from which it will 
be noted that on one railroad there are 123 violations of the sixteen 
hour law reported from January 2nd to the 24th, 1918, inclusive. 





BALTIMORE 


AND 


OHIO 


RAILROAD. 










On Duty 










Onl 


u t V 


Dale 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Min 


s. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 




CUMBERLAND 


MD. 










PITTSBURGH, 


PA. 




Dec. 25 


4040 


19 


35 




Jan 


1? 




18 


20 


•' 25 


2171 


17 


15 




'* 


17 


2255 


22 


40 


" 25 


1775 


17 


15 




" 


17 


2234 


22 


50 


" 28 


7114 


16 


35 














" 29 


4251 


23 


00 








CHILLICOTIIE 


0. 




Jan. 14 


4258 


17 


55 




" 


14 




20 


50 


" 16 


7214 


20 


35 






19 


2884 


IX 


IMI 


" 18 


4860 


16 


30 






19 


2858 


18 


30 


" 18 


7116 


17 


40 




" 


20 


2788 


17 


.in 


" 19 


7214 


18 


00 




" 


20 


2913 


21 


05 


" 20 


7116 


24 


10 
















BOSTON AND 


ALBANY RAILROAD. 








RENSSELAER, 


N. Y. 
















Dec. 7 


1010 


20 


05 




Jan. 


IS 




23 


30 


" 13 


1011 


20 


00 




Dec 


26 


1006 


16 


55 


" 15 


1045 


19 


25 




" 


29 




21 


00 


" 18 


1217 


17 


20 




Jan 


11 




16 


30 


" 22 


1052 


19 


30 




" 


15 




23 


3D 


Jan. 18 


3601 


17 


40 
















COLORADO AND 


SOUTHERN 


RAILROAD. 












TRINIDAD. 


COLO. 








Jan. 1 1 


611 


16 


30 




Jan 


16 


606 


20 


15 


DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA AND 


WESTERN RAILROAD 


. 




SYRACUSE, N 


Y. 








SCRANTON, PA- 


-Cont. 




Tan. 1 


1036 


18 


01 




Jan. 


7 


342 


16 


50 


4 


1036 


19 


02 






7 


369 


16 


50 


4 


767 


16 


30 




" 


7 


1232 


17 


ii.; 


4 


546 


16 


15 




" 


7 


755 


16 


06 


" 6 


726 


16 


12 




" 


7 


796 


17 


00 


8 


368 


17 


42 




" 


7 


1155 


16 


53 


" 9 


358 


16 


05 




" 


8 


1233 


16 


55 


" 10 


783 


16 


21 




" 


8 


399 


16 


30 


" 11 


735 


17 


04 




" 


8 


732 


18 


30 


" 11 


549 


16 


39 




" 


9 


342 


16 


32 


" 12 


731 


18 


35 




" 


9 


775 


16 


58 


" 13 


549 


16 


19 




" 


9 


315 


16 


19 


" 13 


729 


17 


35 




" 


10 


320 


16 


59 


" 16 


782 


17 


00 




" 


10 


569 


i; 


15 


" 17 


783 


16 


33 




'.'. 


11 


862 
823 


16 

16 


ill 
50 




BUFFALO, N. 


Y. 






" 


12 


1229 


21 


j; 


Jan. 11 


1212 


16 


45 




.'.' 


12 
12 


729 
370 


17 
17 


35 

00 




SCRANTON, PA. 






" 


12 


1219 


16 


J 5 


Jan. 2 


1228 


17 


00 






12 


320 


IS 


12 


" 2 


1163 


16 


55 




" 


13 


1215 


16 


30 


" 2 


364 


16 


40 




" 


13 


754 


16 


20 


" 3 


357 


17 


30 




'* 


13 


390 


19 


50 


" 3 


841 


17 


03 




" 


13 


758 


17 


38 


" 3 


557 


17 


00 




" 


13 


846 


17 


30 


" 3 


367 


16 


15 




" 


13 


803 


17 


00 


" 4 


1217 


16 


15 




" 


13 


536 


16 


13 


4 


364 


16 


41 




" 


13 


804 


16 


15 


4 


766 


17 


00 




" 


13 


1153 


17 


00 


4 


734 


16 


38 




" 


13 


776 


20 


00 


" 5 


390 


16 


16 






14 


782 


16 


40 


" 5 


1106 


17 


54 




" 


14 


748 


17 


00 


" 5 


811 


16 


56 




" 


15 


837 


17 


00 


" 5 


359 


16 


16 




" 


15 


1227 


17 


50 


" 6 


755 


16 


06 






15 


1219 


17 


15 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 131 



DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA AND WESTERN RAILROAD.— Cont. 








OnD 


uty 








On Duty 


D 


\te 


Engine No 


Hours 


Mins 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 




SCRANTON, 


PA.— Cont. 






SCRANTON, PA. 


—Cont. 




Jan. 


15 


1216 


19 


17 


Jan. 


21 


308 


16 


24 




15 


873 


16 


18 


" 


21 


777 


16 


34 




16 


783 


16 


33 












" 


17 


1234 


17 


10 


" 


22 


368 


16 


50 


" 


17 


775 


16 


55 


" 


22 


748 


16 


15 


" 


17 


780 


16 


14 


" 


22 


1215 


16 


50 


" 


17 


1203 


16 


45 


" 


22 


758 


16 


53 


" 


17 


369 


17 


15 


" 


22 


390 


17 


20 


" 


17 


809 


17 


00 


" 


22 


874 


16 


50 


" 


17 


330 


18 


25 


" 


22 


546 


17 


30 


" 


18 


369 


17 


00 


" 


22 


765 


17 


00 


" 


18 


1215 


16 


45 


" 


22 


322 


19 


00 


" 


19 


873 


17 


00 




22 


813 


17 


40 


" 


19 


1218 


18 


16 


" 


22 


1207 


16 


38 


" 


20 


729 


17 


15 


" 


22 


1227 


18 


00 


" 


20 


1221 


18 


00 


" 


22 


319 


17 


17 


" 


20 


835 


16 


42 


" 


23 


853 


19 


40 


" 


20 


1114 


16 


55 


" 


23 


1224 


16 


46 


" 


20 


863 


16 


59 


" 


24 


342 


19 


00 


" 


20 


1219 


17 


15 


" 


24 


322 


19 


40 


" 


20 


815 


16 


57 


" 


24 


340 


19 


09 


" 


20 


1231 


16 


21 


" 


24 


335 


19 


31 


" 


20 


319 


19 


48 


" 


24 


847 


17 


48 




21 


335 


17 


30 


" 


24 


828 


17 


48 


" 


21 


775 


16 


34 


" 


24 


1207 


19 


35 


" 


21 


390 


18 


40 


" 


24 


802 


16 


15 


" 


21 


323 


18 


45 


" 


24 


765 


16 


53 




21 


1217 


19 


25 




24 


333 


16 


15 








ERIE 


RAILROAD. 














HUNTINGTON, IND. 








Jan. 


17 


1211 


16 


50 


Jan. 


18 


1757 


20 


00 


" 




1267 






" 


18 


329 


20 


25 


" 


18 


323 


26 


15 


" 


18 


1784 


19 


55 




18 


1206 


20 


20 




18 


2003 


21 


20 








LEHIGH 


VALLEY RAILROAD. 














PITTSTON, PA 










Jan. 


7 


2108 


17 


30 


Jan. 


' 17 


386 


17 


30 


" 


15 


591 


16 


40 


" 


21 


2110 


16 


45 


NEW YORK CENTRAL— INDIANA HARBOR BELT RAILWAY. 










HAMMOND, IND. 








Nov 


9 


256 


17 


00 


Jan. 


13 


4097 


24 


15 


Dec 


11 


253 


19 


00 


" 


14 


4095 


16 


30 


" 


28 


4102 


17 


40 




17 


4102 


19 


20 


" 


28 


154 


23 


00 


" 


17 


3690 


18 


00 


" 


28 


260 


26 


00 


" 


18 


5939 


21 


45 


" 


28 


167 


21 


20 


" 


19 


254 


20 


40 


Jan. 


2 


151 


17 


IS 


" 


19 


5696 


16 


45 


" 


5 


151 


18 


45 


" 


19 


5733 


17 


'20 


" 


6 


262 


16 


3S 


" 


21 


253 


17 


20 




6 


4093 


17 


00 


" 


21 


4090 


20 


30 


" 


7 


5649 


19 


00 


" 


22 


262 


16 


55 


" 


11 


5728 


20 


10 


" 


26 


5423 


20 


25 


" 


11 


163 


24 


00 


" 


27 


262 


19 


45 


" 


11 


160 


23 


45 


" 


27 


5417 


19 


50 


" 


11 


252 


17 


05 


" 


27 


4091 


21 


30 




11 


151 


23 


00 


" 


27 


4102 


24 


40 


" 


11 


4102 


24 


00 


" 


27 


3831 


23 


30 


" 


12 


5400 


23 


00 


" 


27 


4110 


22 


00 


" 


13 


252 


16 


30 


" 


28 


4083 


16 


45 




13 


255 


16 


30 













132 



APPENDIX D 







NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILROAD. 












On 


Duty 






On Duty 


Date 


Engine > 


o. Hours Mins. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 










COLUMBUS. OHIO. 








Jan. 


15 


1426 


18 


00 


Jan. 19 


1392 


16 


35 




15 


1411 


18 


00 


" 19 


1035 


17 


10 


" 


15 


1383 


18 


15 


" 19 


1380 


17 


45 


" 


15 


1397 


16 


30 


" 21 


1386 


26 


05 


" 


16 


1380 


18 


30 


" 21 


1401 


17 


50 




16 


1394 


17 


15 


" 21 


1380 


19 


15 


" 


19 


1391 


17 


10 














WHEELING AND LAKE ERIE RAILROAD. 














CANTON 


OHIO. 








Jan. 


8 


815 


17 


15 


Jan. 11 


709 


19 


00 




10 


449 


17 


00 


« 12 


449 


17 


30 


" 


11 


2408 


16 


10 


" 18 


707 


17 


10 






PITTSBURG AND WEST VIRGINIA RAILROAD 














CARNEGIE, PA. 








Jan. 


3 


2404 


17 


05 


Jan. 16 


911 


16 


50 




4 


912 


17 


00 


" 16 


915 


21 


05 


" 


11 


917 


18 


55 


" 16 


919 


16 


25 


" 


11 


145 


16 


15 


" 16 


911 


16 


25 


" 


14 


900 


17 


15 














NEW 


YORK CENTRAL, 


EAST OF 


BUFFALO. 














UTICA, 


N. Y. 








Jan. 


1 


3617 


18 


35 


Jan. 10 




19 


30 


" 


1 


3653 


19 


50 


" 10 




18 


10 


" 


1 


2525 


17 


30 


" 11 


2100 


16 


45 


" 


2 


2538 


27 


50 


" 11 




16 


10 


" 


2 




19 


50 


'* 11 


2522 


17 


12 


" 


2 


883 


26 


00 


'« 11 




21 


45 


" 


4 


2513 


21 


30 


" 12 


3929 


17 


zs 


" 


4 


2551 


16 


55 


" 12 


2524 


16 


40 


" 


4 


2531 


28 


05 


" 12 




17 


40 


" 


4 




17 


so 


" 13 


2561 


21 


10 


" 


5 




18 


15 


" 13 


3005 


21 


10 


" 


5 


3692 


19 


50 


" 13 




-'4 


15 


" 


5 


3657 


24 


25 


" 13 




25 


40 


" 


6 


2923 


16 


30 


" 14 


2933 


17 


35 


" 


6 


3924 


24 


05 


" 14 


2519 


16 


50 


" 


6 


2008 


35 


00 


" 15 


2008 


16 


15 


" 


6 


3692 


22 


10 


" 15 


3911 


20 


10 


" 


8 


2524 


22 


00 


" 15 


2100 


16 


35 


" 


9 


3011 


17 


20 


" 15 


3005 


16 


15 


" 


9 


2973 


16 


50 


" 15 


3111 


18 


35 


" 


10 




18 


10 


" 16 


3911 


18 


00 


" 


10 


2923 


21 


45 


" 17 


2539 


17 


00 


" 


10 


3927 


23 


°5 


" 17 


3629 


18 


35 




10 


2524 


18 


15 











EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 
ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILWAY. 



133 



Reports show Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway working crews 
long- hours on both the road and in the yard. 

The following- tabulation shows assignment and hours Santa Fe is 
working switching crews in the Chicago Yards : 











On Duty 








On Duty 


Date 








Hours 


Mins. 


Date 






Hours Mins. 


THE 7:00 


A. 


M 


TRANSFER ENGINE, 


THE 


2:30 P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 18TH 






CORY 






STREET 


EIGHT HOUR 


Dec. 11 








11 


00 




ASSIGN - ■ 


" 12 








12 


45 


Dec. 10 






11 05 


" 13 








12 


30 


" 11 






9 45 


" 14 








11 


30 


" 12 






9 30 


" 15 








12 


15 


" 13 






8 40 


" 16 








11 


45 


" 14 






8 50 


THE- 3:00 


P 


M. 


ENGINE, 


COR WITH, 


" 15 






9 30 


EIGHT 


HOUR — ■ I < 


" 16 






8 05 


Dec. 6 








8 




THE 


3:00 P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 18TH 


" 7 








8 




STR 


EIGHT HOUR 


" 8 








8 


40 




ASSIC i i 


" 9 








16 




Dec. 10 






10 


" 10 








10 




" 11 






10 10 


" 11 








15 


45 


" 12 






10 40 


" 12 








9 


15 


" 13 






10 10 


" 13 








8 


50 


" 14 






8 35 


" 14 








10 


15 


" 15 






8 30 


" 15 








8 




" 16 






9 45 


THE 6:00 


P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 


CORWITH. 


THE 


3:00 P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 18TH 


Dec. 10 








13 




STREET, 


EIGHT HOUR 


" 11 








14 


10 




ASSIC ' 


" 12 








13 




Dec. 10 






9 


" 13 








13 




" 11 






8 10 


" 14 








13 


10 


" 12 






11 25 


" 15 








13 




" 13 






9 


" 16 








13 


10 


" 14 






8 15 


THE 7:00 


P. 


M. 


TRANSFER ENGINE, 


" 15 






10 15 






CORW 






" 16 






8 20 


Dec. 11 








13 


15 


THE 


6:00 P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 18TH 


" 12 








12 


30 


STREET, EIGHT HOUR AS- 


" 13 








13 


45 


SIGNMENT 


(NOW RE- 


" 14 








13 


30 




ASSIGNED AS TEN 


" IS 








12 


15 




HOUR JOB). 


" 16 








12 




Dec. 10 






9 20 


THE 8:00 


P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 


CORWITH. 


" 11 






12 


Dec. 10 








13 


15 


" 12 






13 15 


" 11 








13 




*' 13 






12 20 


" 12 








11 


50 


" 14 






12 35 


" 13 








14 


20 


" 15 






11 20 


" 14 








15 


50 


THE 


11:00 P. 


M. 


ENGINE, 18TH 


" 15 








13 


55 


STR f 


EIGHT HOUR 


" 16 








14 


20 




ASSIGNMENT. 


THE 8:00 A. M. TRANS 


Dec. 10 






8 






WIT 






" 11 






8 


Dec. 9 








11 


30 


" 12 






9 


" 10 








15 


40 


" 13 






9 


" 11 








11 




" 14 






9 


" 12 








11 




" 15 






8 20 


" 13 








13 




" 16 






8 


" 14 








13 












" 15 








12 












THE 7:00 


A. 


M. 


TRANSFER ENGINE, 










18TH ST i-"'. !••[• i F.KrH l IHii'i 














ASSJ <.,:;>.! ■ 














Dec. 10 








8 


05 










" 11 








8 


45 










" 12 








8 


05 










" 13 








8 












" 14 








8 


05 










" 15 








8 


05 










" 16 








8 


50 








1 



134 



APPENDIX D 
BUFFALO AND SUSQUEHANNA. 



Report shows Buffalo and Susquehanna R. R. crews are long hours 
on road : 







BUFFALO, N. 


Y. 










On Duty 






On Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. Date 


F.ngine No. 


Hours Mins. 


Ja 


i. 1 


164 


12 25 Jan. 13 


165 


21 05 




' 2 


165 


14 


' 14 


155 


22 15 




3 


165 


15 35 


* 16 


129 


12 20 




4 


165 


15 59 ' 


' 17 


165 


16 15 




' 5 


165 


12 25 ' 


' 18 


164 


15 55 




' 7 


132 


13 35 


' 19 


155 


18 05 




' 8 


132 


15 55 


' 20 


147 


14 45 




' 9 


132 


15 IS * 


' 22 


133 


15 50 




' 10 


132 


14 50 


' 23 


164 


20 50 




' 11 


164 


15 55 


' 24 


155 


13 20 




' 12 


130 


12 









EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 
CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY R. R. 



135 



A statement from an employe of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad shows that that company has established the practice of tying 
crews up on the road just before the service period reaches sixteen hours, 
and notifying the engine crew to "bank the fire, fill boiler with water 
and relieve yourselves." In other words, crews are instructed to leave 
their trains and engines without any responsible person in charge. Engine 
crews protest against such instructions because of damage to property 
and life should the engine move or should water in boiler become 
so low as to cause an explosion of boiler, which if not resulting in 
death to engine crew, might result in death to others, and possibly result 
in their being held on a charge of manslaughter or criminal negligence. 

The following statement is submitted as being typical of hours worked 
by crews on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. 



TRIPS 


BETWEEN GRAND 


CROSSING AND SAVANNA. 


Date 




Train 


Engine 


Hrs. 


Mins. 


TRIPS 


BETWEEN GRAND 


CROSSING 


Dec. 31, 


1917 


Extra 


2099 


16 


00 


AND 


DAYTON'S BLUFF.-' 


Jan. 10, 


1918 




1916 


14 


35 


Date 


Train Engine 


Hrs. Mins. 


" 17 


" 


" 


2002 


14 


35 


Jan. 20 


1918 Extra 1937 


13 45 


" 18 


" 


" 


2002 


IS 


00 


" 19" 


91 1931 


13 35 


" 18 


" 


" 


2082-2 16< 


IS 


45 


" 20 


" 93-94 1810 


15 40 


" 19 


" 


" 


2002 


14 


16 


" 21 


" Extra 2002 


14 35 


" 19 


" 


" 


2169 


IS 


30 


" 22 


82 2054 


16 00 


" 19 


" 


" 


2087 


14 


25 


" 22 


" Extra 1931 


13 4S 


" 22 


" 


" 


2087 


15 


59 


" 24 


91 1931 


IS 30 


" 22 


" 


" 


2214 


15 


10 


" 25 


" Extra 2031 


IS 00 


" 22 


" 


" 


1901 


14 


30 


" 26 


80 2031 


15 30 


" 23 
" 24 
" 25 


u 


94 
Extra 


2098 
1810 
1810 


15 
12 
10 


15 

30 

30 


Jan. 1, 
1 


TRANSFER SERVICE 

1918 3162 12 25 
3105 13 40 


TRIPS 


BETWEEN 


GRAND 


CROSSING 


" 8 


3196 


12 15 


AND 


DAYTON'S BLUFF 




8 


" 3105 


13 45 


Jan. 2, 


1918 


Extra 


2123 


15 


45 


9 


3196 


12 30 


" 2 




82 


2121 


14 


20- 


•■'■ 10 


3162 


12 35 


Dec. 31, 


1917 


Extra 


2102 


12 


45 


" 12 


3105 


12 00 


Jan. 2, 


1918 


81 


2214 


14 


00 


" 15 


5211 


15 00 


" 5 




82 


2137 


15 


30 


" 17 


3105 


13 10 


" 8 


" 


91 


2214 


13 


25 


PUSHERS, DAYTON'S 


BLUFF. 


" 8 


" 


81 


2121 


13 


35 . 


Jan. 8, 


1918 1839 


12 00 


" 14 


" 


91 


1921 


15 


00 


" 9 


1836 


11 40 


" 17 


" 


91 


2102 


15 


15 


" 10 


1839 


12 05 


" 19 


" 


Extra 2214 


13 


30 


" 14 


5298 


11 SO 


" 19 




93-94 


1931 


14 


30 


" 17 


5298 


12 45 



1.36 



APPENDIX D 
CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN. 



Fireman on Chicago Great Western Railway shows his time for 
January 2nd to 5th. inclusive, as typical of a day's work on local freight: 





On Duty 


Date 


Engine No. Hours Mins. 




CLARION, IOWA. 


Jan. _' 


271 15 SS 


3 


271 16 


4 


224 13 4() 


5 


224 14 55 



CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE AND ST. PAUL. 

Statement by fireman on Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Ry., show- 
ing time consumed during January 1918. on trips between La Crosse 
and Minneapolis and Montevideo and Minneapolis. 142 and 144 miles 
respectively : 



Day of 








Day of 








Month 


Engine 


Hours 


Mins. 


Month 


Engine 


Hours 


Min.. 


10th 


5571 


13 


35 


21st 


5644 


14 


20 




5534 


15 


35 


" 


5558 


13 


15 


" 


5021 


15 


20 


" 


7228 


15 


30 




5071 


14 


30 


" 


5547 


15 


45 


" 


5546 


16 


00 


22nd 


5033 


15 


25 




5644 


15 


00 


22nd 


5571 


13 


51) 


11th 


6104 


1 5 


15 




5004 


14 


15 




7138 


13 


30 


23rd 


5534 


14 


00 


" 


5033 


15 


15 


24th 


5033 


13 


00 


" 


8171 


15 


30 


" 


5559 


15 


4 5 




5004 


14 


40 


25 th 


8039 


16 


00 


12th 


5005 


14 


30 


" 


5534 


15 


411 


14th 


5534 


14 


00 


" 


8028 


15 


00 


15th 


5614 


14 


30 


" 


8064 


16 


00 


" 


8111 


13 


35 


" 


5513 


14 


50 


17th 


5534 


15 


00 


" 


5624 


15 


55 


" 


5030 


15 


55 


26th 


8071 


13 


00 


20th 


8047 
8115 


16 
16 


00 
00 




5033 


14 


20 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC. 



137 



A fireman on the Oklahoma Division of the Chicago, Rock Island 
& Pacific Railway cites trips consuming" long hours covering small 
mileage : 



Date 


Engine 


Miles 


Hours 


Mins. 


Date Engine 


Miles 


Hours Mins. 


Dec. 4, 19 


7 1778 


101 


15 


55 


Dec. 14, 1917 1743 


101 


15 15 


" 6 ' 


1771 


107 


10 


20 


" 16 " 1743 


65 


13 00 


" 7 " 


1778 


47 


10 


45 


" 17 " 1758 


33 


14 45 


" 8 " 


1752 


65 


14 


50 


Jan. 20, 1918 1774 


66 


17 45 


" 11 " 


1736 


100 


16 


00 


" 22 " 1771 


93 


17 30 


" 13 ' 


1736 


107 


16 


00 









CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS AND OMAHA RAILROAD. 

A report from this road shows that while the company does not 
habitually violate the Hours of Service Law, crews are required to work 
exceedingly long hours, and the following statement showing hours 
on duty for one crew for the month of December, 1917, is typical of 
hours worked by all crews : 





On Duty 






On 


Duty 


Date 


Hours 


Mins. 


Date 


Hours Mins. 


Dec. 2 


8 


40 


Dec 


17 


15 


55 


" 3 


12 


15 




18 


12 


45 


" 4 


15 


55 


" 


20 


14 


40 


" 5 


11 


20 


" 


21 


14 


25 


" 7 


15 


00 


" 


22 


11 


10 


" 8 


15 


50 


" 


23 


13 


15 


" 9 


12 


25 


" 


24 


14 


30 


" 11 


14 


45 


" 


25 






" 12 


13 


30 


" 


26 


12 


40 


" 14 


15 


55 


" 


28 


13 


05 


" 15 


15 


25 


" 


29 


11 


25 


" 16 


12 


10 




31 


15 


55 



138 APPENDIX D 

DENVER & RIO GRANDE RAILROAD. 

Denver & Rio Grande employes report as follows: 

"I am sending you a report on how the crews are required to work. We have 
one division 97 miles, another 85 and another 68, and it doesn't make any difference 
which one a crew starts on, they will be from twelve to sixteen hours making the 
trip. It seems that the company doesn't want a crew to get over the road. I 
know a number of cases where a train has been six or eight hours going 41 miles. 
1 am also sending you a report on how some of this could be avoided and you can 
readily see how we are being 'raw-hided' as we call it. These reports 1 am 
sending are not isolated cases but every day occurrences and I have the evidence 
to prove what I am sending you. 

"It seems as if the company has gone "tonnage crazy.' I have known them to 
hold a crew eight or ten hours in a terminal when there was 60 red ball loads 
to go, but they would hold them until they had 75 loads. Then they would run 
them probably with a double-header and deadhead a train crew or two. This is 
an every day occurrence." 

Delay reports for January 23rd, 24th and 25th, 1918, show delays of 6 hours, 
8 hours and 50 minutes and 10 hours and 10 minutes, respectively, covering an 
85-mile division. 

As early as August, 1917, the organizations on the Denver & Rio Grande asked 
that they be relieved of the arduous duties imposed upon them and framed their 
request as follows : 

"Exhibit No. i. On or about June 26th, Conductor Frye arrived at Concord 
on the local from the South, received orders to fill to 5250 tons. Told the operator 
at Lascar he was leaving 3 cars. The dispatcher sent him orders to take them 
all and in addition to pick up two loads at Cedarwood. This made him 82 loads 
and 5 empties. Train parted east of Mustang. He took the head end to Cedar- 
wood and when he returned for the rear portion, he found a D. & R. G. crew. 
Conductor Davis, standing behind him with only the caboose. This crew followed 
him into Pueblo, suffering all the delays of the enormous train ahead. 
"We claim better service would have been rendered if each crew had 43 cars. 
"Exhibit No. 2. Note copy of order issued to Conductor Budd, Extra No. 916, 
East, Southern Junction : 

" 'Cut out wheel report from Rouse to Pueblo. Will have Local East carry the 
11 loads and your caboose on his wheel report. Give a list of numbers and content 
of the three loads you have to dispatcher on arrival at Pueblo so can instruct 
Local. E. E. G. 9:10 A. M.' 

"This is adding a burden of clerical work to the conductor of the large train 
that does not rightfully belong to him. 

"Exhibit No. 3. On date of July 15th, 1917, two engines ordered out of Salida 
eastbound at 1 :00 p. m., with two deadhead cabooses and crews deadheading in 
way cars, this probably made to appear on train sheet of two light engines. 
Redball train of 20 east loads arrived in Salida at 12 o'clock noon, were held until 
1 :00 a. m. to fill the crew ordered at that time to 60 or 70 cars. 

"We claim that yards would be relieved of congestion, movement of freight 
expedited with no financial loss to the company as these train crews were paid 
the same for deadheading as for handling a train and a better chance given 
crews to watch train account of curvature Salida to Pueblo. 

"Exhibit No. 4. Local East, train No. 84, July 17th, 1917, left Salida about 
/ :00 a. m. After filling at Howard on rock, he had 55 cars, about 3,000 tons. 
Derailed car near center of train, 2 miles east of Howard, evidently done by 
slack of heavy train. At 11 :30 a. m. 2 engines, 1192 and 1158, were ordered out of 
Salida with 2 deadhead train crews with cabooses. Crews ordered to stay with 
the cabooses and not go on No. 4 due out at 12:10. Train of deadhead freight from 
the West arrived at Salida 11:30 a. m, but ordered held to fill the next crew east 
to 60 cars. Some other east loads in the yard. The deadhead equipment passed 
the Local at Texas Creek, also passed 33 east loads lined up at Florence. 

"We claim a probable averting of derailment to Local East, avoidance of over- 
time, also possible damage to the sixty-car train following if this deadhead outfit 
had taken what loads were at Salida and the rock from Howard 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 139 

"Exhibit No. 5. On or about July 15th, Conductor Gribben, engine 1150, left 
La Veta as 1st No. 116 coming to Pueblo with the caboose only, leaving 35 east 
loads at La Veta and 15 at Walsenburg. 

"We claim this crew should have moved these loads, they making a train within 
the safety zone and would have cost the company no more to handle than running 
the crew light, saving the next crew from being compelled to handle 75 or 80 
loads, and further avoiding delay to shipment. 

"Exhibit No. 6. On date of July 9th, Conductor Austin left La Veta and came 
to Pueblo with his caboose. Conductor Asbury brought 80 loads Walsenburg to 
Pueblo. Conductor Davis turned at Walsenburg and returned to Pueblo with the 
caboose close behind Asbury. 

"We claim better movement would have been made and no loss to the com- 
pany if Austin had moved 40 of the loads avoiding the strain on train crew who 
handled the 80 loads in one train. 

"Exhibit No. 7. Conductor Schropp, July 4th, assigned to the El Moro-Lascar 
turn-around, deadheaded El Moro to Barnes on Local East, picked up train, filled 
at Rouse Junction and set train out at Lascar. Conductor Gribben arrived at 
Lascar on Local, picked up Conductor Schropp's train and was ordered to make 
wheel report of entire train including that handled by Conductor Schropp from 
Barnes and Rouse Junction, train sheet probably showing no movement on the 
part of Conductor Schropp eastbound. 

"We claim that while Conductor Gribben was making this extra amount of 
wheel report, it was taking his attention from the watching of his train. A con- 
ductor was recently discharged account being unable to make the reports and 
watch train at the same time. 

"Exhibit No. 8. Copy of work order dated July 25th, Pueblo : 
" 'Run Extra South 9 :00 A. M. with 187 class engine and the Graneros loads. 
Bring from Capers all loads to Pueblo. Make no wheel report for return trip 
Lascar to Pueblo but leave numbers of loads at Lascar and dispatcher have Local 
East show them on wheel report. E. E. G.' 

"Exhibit No. 0. Copy of work order dated July 25th, Pueblo: 
"'Run extra South 9:00 A. M. sharp with 187 class engine. 'Fill to B tonnage 
on steel dumps and coal cars. Turn at Lascar, return light, make no wheel report 
for the return trip. Will have Local carry the caboose. E. E. G.' 

"Exhibit No. 10. Under date July 26th, Ex. 920 turned at Lascar, 1 :45 P. M., 
to Pueblo with caboose. Ordered to make no wheel report leaving 43 loads at 
Lascar. Local east No. 1151, Conductor Gribben, arrived Lascar, filled to 83 
loads, 5235 tons. 

"We claim better service would have been rendered if Ex. 920 had moved the 
43 loads from Lascar avoiding delay to shipments and possible damage to 
equipment. 

"Exhibit No. 11. Ex. 924 East on July 28th left Lascar with caboose and fol- 
lowed Ex. 1151, Conductor Carlisle, Lascar to Pueblo. Ex. 1151 had 76 loads and 
6 empties, 4272 tons. Ex. 924 left at Lascar 7 east loads which he brought from 
Capers Spur. 

"Exhibit No. 12. Copy of order issued July 31st: 

" 'Run extra 4 :00 P. M. with full train mine empties for Walsenburg. Turn at 
Walsenburg, return light, no wheel report. Extra out of La Veta will carry the 
caboose.' 

"Exhibit No. jj. August 2nd, Local East with engines 923 and 924, coupled 74 
loads out Lascar, 4736 tons, Conductor Boden. Received following work order 
addressed Boden and Ballard : 

" 'Boden show Ballard's caboose on wheel report, Lascar to Pueblo. Ballard 
make no wheel report.' 

"Second order, same parties addressed: 

" 'Ballard pick up RG 28486 at Marnell for Pueblo. Boden carry on his wheel 
report.' 

"Same date, third order: 

" 'Ballard move RG- 60500 from Cedarwood to Pueblo. Boden show on his 
wheel report. Joint G-143.' 



140 APPENDIX D 

-Exhibit No. 14. Ex. 916-1150 coupled left Lascar at 5:50 P. M. with 79 loads 
and 2 empties, 5248 tons and a deadhead caboose with a bad order coke rack with 
drawbar out behind caboose. Ex. 710 East with the caboose at 6:05 P. M. 

"We claim Ex. 710 should at least have handled the bad order car and avoid 
the danger of injury to the train crews compelled to ride in the caboose. 

"Exhibit No. 13. Under date August 7th, Ex. 1150, Carlisle, ordered to turn at 
Walsenhurg and return to Pueblo light. When turning at Walsenburg they 
left at that point 63 loads which were being held to fill an extra out of La Yeta 
to 5250 tons. They also passed 52 east loads at Lascar which were being held to 
Till the Local out of El Moro to 5250 tons. This crew consumed 8 hours and 50 
minutes in making the turn. 

"We claim that delay to these shipments would have been avoided, also it 
would have been easier on train crews following, with no financial loss to the 
company, if this crew had handled its proportion of the cars. 

"Exhibit No. 16. August 17th, Extra East, engines 925-1132 coupled, Con- 
ductor Asbury, out of Salida 11:50 A. M., 45 loads, 17 empties, 2623 tons. (i.. 
lightly and crew deadheaded in the caboose on this train. 

"Exhibit No. 17. August 17th, Ex. 1148, Conductor Schmelzer, out of Walsen- 
burg, had 98 cars. Engine 918 out of Walsenburg about 1 hour and 30 minutes 
later came through to Pueblo with caboose. This crew turned at Walsenburg. 

''We claim that the 98-car train is beyond the danger limit of a train through this 
territorv and that train should have been divided between the two crews." 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 
FORT SMITH & WESTERN RAILROAD. 



141 



The following" report from the Fort Smith and Western Railroad 
showing time consumed in moving- freight over two divisions, one 103 
and the other 108 miles in length. Time shown is made by regular 
crews : 







On 


Duty 




On 


Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hour 


s Mins. 


Date Engine N 


o. Hours Mins. 


Dec. 24 


Thru Freight 


12 


45 


Dec. 20 


15 


55 


" 23 


" " 


14 


45 


" 21 


13 


45 


" 22 


" " 


10 


00 


M 22 


12 


55 


" 21 


" " 


11 


40 


" 24 


13 


30 


" 28 


" " 


14 


30 


" 25 


13 


45 


" 18 


" " 


12 


30 


" 26 


12 


20 


" 19 


" " 


17 


30 


" 27 


11 


15 


" 20 


" " 


15 


55 


" 28 


12 


15 


" 22 


" " 


11 


00 


" 29 


12 


30 


" 23 


" " 


12 


40 


" 31 


13 


15 


" 24 


" " 


11 


40 








" 28 


" " 


12 


30 


" 16 Thru Freight 11 


00 


" 30 


" " 


12 


30 


" 17 


12 


00 


" 31 


" 


9 


00 


" 18 
" 19 


14 
11 


00 
00 


" 17 


Local 


14 


50 


" 20 


10 


00 


" 18 


" 


14 


00 


" 21 


13 


00 


" 19 




14 


25 


" 22 


12 


00 


" 20 


" 


13 


00 


" 24 


' 10 


00 


" 21 


" 


15 


50 


" 25 


12 


00 


" 22 


" 


IS 


40 


" 26 


' 12 


00 


" 24 


" 


15 


40 


" 31 


15 


00 


" 25 


" 


15 


40 


" 19 


13 


00 


" 26 


" 


10 


20 


" 20 


13 


00 


" 27 


" 


12 


55 


" 21 


13 


50 


" 28 


" 


13 


20 


" 22 


13 


30 


" 29 


" 


15 


30 


" 23 


20 


40 


" 31 




15 


30 


" 25 
.. 29 


15 
11 


30 
00 


" 19 


Thru Freight 


10 


30 


" 30 


11 


40 


" 20 


" " 


12 


45 








" 21 


" " 


13 


no 


" 16 Local 


10 


45 


" 22 


" " 


13 


00 


" 17 


15 


40 


" 23 


" " 


IS 


10 


" 18 


15 


55 


" 24 


« u 


10 


30 


" 19 


13 


30 


" 26 


" " 


11 


no 


" 20 


14 


45 


" 27 


" " 


11 


15 


" 24 


13 


45 


" 28 


" " 


15 


00 


" 25 


11 


40 


" 29 


" " 


14 


00 


" 26 


11 


15 


" 31 


" " 


12 


00 


" 27 


12 


00 


« 17 


" " 


10 


00 


" 28 


15 


40 


" 18 


" " 


10 


00 








" 19 


" 


14 


15 


Dec. 29 Local 
« 31 


13 


15 
00 


Dec. 20 


Thru Freight 


13 


45 


" 17 


14 


30 


" 21 


" " 


9 


00 


" 18 


15 


30 


" 22 


" " 


10 


25 


" 19 


15 


45 


" 25 








" 20 


15 


30 


" 17 


" " 


"ii' 


" 00 ' ' 


« 21 


12 


00 


" 20 


« « 


13 


00 


" 22 


12 


00 


" 22 


" " 


15 


00 


" 24 


13 


00 


" 25 


" 


13 


25 


" 26 
" 27 


14 
14 


35 
40 


" 17 


Local 


12 


25 


" 28 


12 


00 


" 18 


" 


15 


00 


" 29 


13 


00 


" 19 




12 


55 


" 31 


15 


00 



142 APPENDIX D 

NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD RAILROAD. 

Information received from employes of this road shows complaint 
because of the practice of the Company in working- crews excessive 
hours, to the extent of violating the Hours of Service Law, the follow- 
ing instances being cited as examples: 

"On January 25, 1918, fireman reported for work at 7 :00 a. m. ; worked on 
emergency work until 10:25 a. m. ; fired an extra light engine Providence to East 
Greenwich, and a freight train (HP2) to Northup Avenue (Providence). He 
worked on emergency work from 12:20 p. m. to 1:55 p. m. then fired engine 1565 
Providence to Valley Falls, and from Valley Falls to Kingston, leaving Provi- 
dence 3 :55 p. m. and arriving Kingston 5 :35 p. m. At Kingston he was ordered 
to take rest for three hours by Conductor W. Hogue (6:10 p. m. to 9:10 p. m. ) 
although there are no accommodations for sleeping- at Kingston. He fired freight 
train Kingston to Providence, leaving at 10:40 p. m. and relieved at Providence 
at 1 :58 a. m. On duty 18 hours and 58 minutes. 

January 24, 1918, fireman booked on duty 12:40 a. m. : took two hours rest at 
initial terminal at Providence, then fired engine 394 to yard at Northrup Avenue, 
engine broke pilot and returned to engine house, took two hours rest a second 
time and fired freight train (B NL) to New Haven. On duty 17 hours and 55 
minutes as he was relieved at 6 :35 p. m. 

It is the practice on the N. Y. N. H. & H. R. R. to give men two or three 
hours' rest at any time. They may be required to wait at an engine house for an 
engine or for work to be done on engine, and then to extend the working hours of 
the men accordingly. 

Engineer stated that he puts himself and fireman on rest at Worcester while 
engine is being hostled, in order that he may run the train home to Providence. 

The local officials at Providence hold that if a crew report for duty and there 
is no engine available, that the men will wait around expecting to be assigned to 
an engine any minute, and yet will be on what they call automatic rest, because 
they have actually performed no manual labor." 

In connection with the foregoing statement showing that crews are 
relieved for brief periods, without regard for facilities for securing food 
and rest, the following additional statement is submitted with telegrams 
received by train and engine crews over signature of the Superintendent : 

"These are actual telegrams sent to an engineer and signed by the initials of 
the Superintendent, Mr. G. A. Poore. It explains just how rest is given to crews: 
at Plainfield men can either sleep on the engine, or in the caboose if they have 
one. In this instance we did not have one as we went to Plainfield light to double 
into Providence with train 138." 

"Providence, March 7, 1917. 
C&E. X 1701 & Agent, 
Plainfield, 
Turn your engine over to the pumpman and go on two hours rest. 138 will 
not leave Willimantic until about 4:00 a. m. G. A. P." 

"Providence, 3-7-1917. 
C & Engr. X 1701, 

Plainfield, 
138 will reach Plainfield about 4:40 a. m. You need not go on rest now. 

G. A. P." 
"Providence, 3-7-1917. 
C&E X 1701. 

Plainfield, 
Go on rest until called. G. A. P." 

"Providence, March 7. 1917. 
Agent & Engineer, 

Plainfield, 
Crew on engine 1701 are all relieved in season to deadhead home on 4306. 
Agent at Plainfield will instruct pumpman to take care of engine until spare fire- 
man arrives from Providence on 4303. G. A. P." 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 



143 



NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA & NORFOLK RAILROAD. 

The time for July, August, September, October, November and 
December, 1917, for two freight firemen, and for July, August, Septem- 
ber, October and November, 1917, for another, is submitted by members 
on the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad as being typical 
of the hours consumed on the 95 mile division from Delmar, Delaware, 
to Cape Charles, Va. : 







On D 


uty 






On 


Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


July 1 


34 


15 


55 


Sept. 22 


25 


14 






27 


13 


40 


" 24 


40 


8 




4 


14 


8 


00 


" 25 


45 


11 


40 


" 5 


14 


8 


00 


" 26 


20 


13 




" 5 


28 


10 


20 


" 27 


14 


16 




" 6 


12 


13 


00 


" 29 


27 


13 


10 


" 7 


5 


14 


10 


" 30 


2 


8 




9 


5 


13 


15 










" 10 


2 


23 ' 


45 


Oct. 1 


5 


9 


20 


" 11 


34 


15 


00 


" 2 


14 


10 




" 12 


31 


15 


25 


3 


39 


15 


55 


" 13 


26 


18 


30 


" 5 


5 


16 




" 15 


22 


11 


30 


" 6 


15 


13 


05 


" 16 


7 


11 


30 


" 7 


15 


14 


20 


" 17 


19-6 


11 


30 


" 9 


17 


12 


30 


" 18 


5 


21 


00 


" 10 


44 


13 


05 


" 19 


43 


16 


20 


" 11 


22 


9 


50 


" 20 


40 


8 


00 


" 12 


15 


17 


35 


" 21 


33 


14 


00 


" 14 


14 


8 


45 


" 22 


19 


16 


00 


" 15 


34&12 


15 


10 


" 23 


39 


15 


50 


" 17 


15&22 


16 




" 25 


7 


11 


00 


" 18 


26 


13 


25 


" 26 


34 


10 


25 


" 19 


3 


11 


45 


" 27 


20 


17 


10 


" 31 


17 


17 


15 


" 28 


14 


16 


45 


Nov. 1 


21 


20 


30 


" 29 


19 


15 


00 


" 3 


25 


15 


45 


" 31 


40 


14 


00 


" 5 


34 


11 


40 










" 6 


40 


9 


20 


Aug. 1 
" 10 


3 


8 


00 


" 7 


26 


16 




45 


16 


00 


" 9 


26 


9 


50 


" 11 


22 


15 


00 


" 16 


2 


9 


30 


" 13 


2 


16 


00 


" 17 


39 


11 


20 


" 14 


44 


16 


00 


" 19 


24 


15 


40 


" IS 


43 


15 


00 


" 21 


28 


16 




" 24 


27 


12 


10 


" 22 




10 


25 


" 25 


27 


16 


00 


" 24 


44 


13 


40 


" 26 


43 


8 


00 


" 25 


14 


8 


35 


" 27 


32 


9 


30 


" 27 


7 


11 


40 


" 28 


15 


8 


00 


" 28 


S 


11 


40 


" 29 


44 


12 


45 


" 30 


14 


16 


40 


" 30 


43 


8 


00 










" 31 


27 


16 


00 


Dec. 1 


15 


13 


45 










" 4 


39 


12 


30 


Sept. 1 


5 


13 


40 


" 5 


39 


15 


40 


" 2 


27 


12 


15 


" 7 


34 


15 


59 


4 


12 


16 




" 9 


3 


8 




" 5 


5 


8 




" 9 


3 


12 


15 


" 6 


5 


16 




" 12 


39 


10 


45 


" 7 


20 


8 


55 


" 13 


3 


16 




" 8 


17 


16 




" 15 


5 


15 




" 9 


20 


9 


40 


" 16 


39 


15 


35 


" 10 


2 


14 


45 


" 17 


5 


11 


30 


" 11 


27 


16 




" 20 


23 


19 




" 13 


3 


18 


30 


" 21 


3 


13 


45 


" 14 


7 


16 




" 23 


43 


10 


20 


" 15 


45 


16 




" 24 


1 


11 




" 16 


22 


11 


45 


" 25 


7 


8 


35 


" 18 


12 


11 


45 


" 26 


34 


17 




'* 19 


38 


8 




" 27 


12 


10 




" 20 


26 


14 


30 


" 29 


1 


14 




" 21 


40 


8 




" 30 


44 


11 





144 



APPENDIX D 



NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA & NORFOLK RAILROAD- 
CONTINUED 







On 


Duty 








On 


Duty 


Date 


Engine Xo. 


Hours Mills. 


Date 


Engine Xo. 


Hours Mins. 


Tulv 3 
" 4 


28 


6 




Nov 


22 


39 


6 




15 


10 




" 


23 


25 


16 




" 5 


25 


12 




" 


24 


7 


12 


15 


" 6 


2 


10 




" 


29 


5 


18 


15 


« 7 


27 


6 




" 


30 


39 


13 


30 


" 8 


15 


9 














" 9 


44 


9 




Dec. 


5 


4 5 


10 


30 


" 10 


1 


8 




" 


6 


45 


12 


50 


" 11 


33 


14 




" 


9 


40 


26 




" 12 


33 


7 




" 


10 


31 


14 


30 


" 13 


14 


10 




" 


13 


5 


10 




" 14 


14 


8 




•' 


14 


Deadheaded 






" 19 


3 


12 




" 


20 


3 


15 




" 20 


33 


14 




" 


21 


6 


8 


40 


" 21 


43 


11 




" 


22 


Deadheaded 






" 30 


45 


15 




" 


23 


15 


16 


40 


" 31 


27 


12 




',', 


28 
29 


Deadheaded 


19 


15 


Aug. 1 


12 


17 


30 












" 6 


31 


16 




July 


1 


12 


10 


20 


" 8 


31 


5 






3 


23 


16 




" 9 


17 


15 




" 


4 


39 


10 


40 


'• 12 


12 


12 




" 


5 


22 


14 


20 


" 13 


12 


10 


30 


" 


6 


44 


9 


50 


" 14 


45 


10 




" 


7 


31 


16 


35 


" 15 


14 


16 




" 


8 


2 


13 


30 


" 16 


44 


12 




" 


9 


33 


15 


4il 


" 17 


44 


14 




" 


11 


40 


15 


15 


" 21 


27 


15 


45 


" 


13 


3 


8 




" 22 


27 


19 




" 


14 


23 


15 


50 


" 24 


3 


10 






15 


39 


8 




" 25 


3 


14 




" 


16 


14 


6 


4 5 


" 27 


34 


15 


40 


" 


17 


43 


17 




" 28 


26 


15 


45 


" 


18 
19 


40 
40 


15 
14 


15 
15 


Sept. 1 


3 


8 


40 


" 


20 


17 


19 




" 2 


3 


12 


45 


" 


22 


45 


17 




" 5 


23 


16 


15 


" 


23 


5 


14 


20 


6 


14 


15 


40 




24 


31 


25 


30 


" 10 


2 


10 


30 




25 


17 


17 


50 


" 11 


34 


15 


10 


" 


26 


17 


16 




" 12 


5 


16 




" 


27 


44 


13 




" 13 


28 


15 


20 


" 


31 


2 i 


14 


45 


" 14 


33 


15 


30 












" 19 


7 


15 


45 


Aug 


1 


5 


11 


30 


" 20 


43 


15 


55 




2 


24 


16 




" 21 


14 


15 


55 


" 


3 


24 


14 


25 


" 23 


2 


11 




" 


4 


17 


12 


25 


" 24 


14 


14 


30 


" 


5 


15 


8 




" 25 


17 


15 


55 












" 26 


17 


15 


15 


Aug 


6 

7 


3 

28 


10 
16 


15 


Oct, 1 


43 


10 


30 


" 


8 


38 


4 


15 


" 2 


Deadheaded 






" 


9 


43 


13 


50 


" 3 


28 


16 




" 


10 


34 


20 


2:- 


4 


7 


14 


IS 


" 


12 


45 


7 


30 


" 8 


5 


9 


411 


" 


13 


34 


12 




" 9 


2 


12 




" 


14 


40 


15 


30 


" 10 


5 


14 




" 


15 


7 


8 




" 11 


5 


15 




" 


16 


44 


6 


40 


" 13 


22 


12 


45 


" 


17 


33 


14 


20 


« 14 


44 


13 


30 


" 


18 


ii 


12 


40 


" 20 


40 


16 




" 


19 


21 


8 


35 


" 22 


40 


9 




•• 


29 


27 


15 


20 


" 23 


28 


13 


45 




30 


22 


13 




" 25 


2 


13 


15 


" 


31 


20 


10 


20 


" 26 


3 


13 


10 












" 30 


40 


17 




Sept 


2 
3 


33 

5 


5 
7 


50 
05 


Nov. 1 


34 


10 


15 


" 


4 


27 


11 


25 


" 2 


21 


9 




" 


5 


27 


12 


15 










44 


6 


21 


8 


15 


Nov. 9 


44 


12 


45 


" 


7 


21 


8 




" 10 


20 


11 


30 


" 


8 


21 


8 




" 11 


17 


14 




•* 


9 


15 


10 


30 


" 12 


23 


20 






10 


15 


17 


40 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 145 

NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA & NORFOLK RAILROAD- 

CONTINUED 







On 


Duty 








On 


Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


" 13 


25 


19 


50 


Oct. 


25 


7 


15 


45 


" 14 


14 


16 




" 


26 


7 


16 




" 17 


27 


15 




" 


28 


44 


12 


45 


" 18 


34 


15 


45 


Oct. 


29 


44 


•15 


50 


" 19 


27 


15 


45 




30 


1 


13 


50 


" 21 


27 


16 




" 


31 


27 


15 


35 


" 22 


40 


12 


20 


Nov 


1 


26 


14 


40 


" 24 


27 


10 


15 


" 


2 


26 


16 




" 25 


39 


10 


45 


" 


5 


24 


14 


50 


" 27 


22 


15 


10 


" 


6 


30 


16 




" 28 


40 


11 


50 


" 


8 


2 


17 


15 


" 29 


5 


12 


15 


" 


9 


1 


18 


45 


" 30 


40 


10 


30 


',', 


12 
13 


25 
25 


12 
18 


45 
45 


Oct. 4 


14 


11 




" 


14 


23 


10 




" 5 


17 


15 




" 


15 


23 


14 




" 7 


2 


16 




" 


17 


2 


9 


30 


" 8 


3 


14 


40 


" 


18 


14 


11 


55 


" 10 


12 


14 


50 


" 


20 


45 


12 


40 


" 11 


44 


15 


25 


" 


22 


44 


10 


45 


" 15 


15 


16 


30 


" 


23 


14 


9 


15 


" 16 


15 


18 




" 


27 


15 


11 


30 


" 18 


34 


14 


so 


" 


28 


26 


16 




" 19 


2 


10 


25 













PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD (East). 

Report from Pottsville, Penna., dated January 20th, 1918, states that 
on the Schuylkill Division the law regulating hours of service is not 
violated, as the company relieves crews before, or at, the expiration of 
sixteen hours. The writer states that 80% of the crews on that division 
are working closer to the Sixteen Hour Law than at any time since 
the law became operative, and cites the following cases: 

An engineer relieved three times to avoid violation of law. 

An extra engineer making two consecutive trips of 15 hours and 57 minutes, 
and 15 hours and 50 minutes, respectively, and another trip of 34 miles when the 
Hours of Service Law compelled him to tie up. 

Another engineer's trip cards show that on January 18th, with Engine 107, on 
duty 14 hours and 45 minutes; January 19th, with Engine 107, on duty 15 hours 
and 45 minutes. 

Another engineman cites trip on January 17th, and overtaken by law 27.6 miles 
from terminal. Called for return trip, and tied up under law 5 miles from terminal. 

Another engineman, on January 20th, relieved upon bringing his train to stop 
at terminal 15 hours and 59 minutes on duty. 

The writer advises it is quite common for crews to be, relieved along 
the road, stating the practice has become so general that two crews 
have been assigned at Mt. Carbon for the purpose of relieving crews 
disabled under the Law. He adds that on January 20th, 47 engineers 
and firemen were off sick; that these 47 dngineers and firemen repre- 
sented about 30% of those employed on his division. 






146 APPENDIX D 

ST. LOUIS & SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD. 

While the reports from the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad 
evidence a determined effort on the part of that company to not violate 
the Hours of Service Law, the same reports contain information that 
engine crews are worked longer hours than heretofore, practically half 
of the time right up to the limit of the Law. 

Neodesha, Kansas: Information from Neodesha, Kansas, on a divi- 
sion of 106 miles, shows crews working within a few minutes of the 
Sixteen Hour Law on practically all trips, and on many occasions tied up 
on the road. 

St. Louis, Mo.: A rej>ort from St. Louis, dated January 29th, 1918, 
advises that in the past four months at least one-half of the crews put in 
sixteen hours, many of them getting in in the last minute, while others 
tied up on the line ; a number of which crews were tied up the second 
time on the same trip, on a division of 117 miles; that the Frisco work 
their men longer than the government work their mules. 

Springfield, Mo.: A Springfield, Mo., report contains the same com- 
plaint, long hours on the road, and cites the following trips in substantia- 
tion thereof : 









On D 


utv 






On Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


Jan. 18 




5 


16 




Jan. 20 


738 


9 40 


" 18 




6 


14 


25 


" 21 


1286 


13 20 


" 18 




1 


16 




•' 21 


5 


16 


" 19 




4 


14 


40 


" 21 


4 


16 


" 20 




2 


12 


45 


'* 21 

" 21 


1 

6 


12 15 
14 IS 



Enid, Oklahoma: A report from Enid, Okla.. shows no violation of 
the Sixteen Hour Law, but excessive long hours on duty, making small 
mileage. The time of one fireman for October, 1917, shows 135 hours 
and 10 minutes overtime. He worked the entire month. He worked 
21 days in September and made 102 hours overtime. In November he 
worked 11 days and made 67 hours overtime. In December he worked 
14 days and made 74 hours overtime. At the time of rendering report, 
he had worked 5 days in January and had made 29 hours overtime. 

A fireman describing a local freight movement, uses the following 
language : "We will leave Tulsa with coal and empty grain cars for the 
West ; they are started on local, and the first day they get to Jennings, 
a distance of 37 miles ; the next day they leave Jennings with this train 
and go to Enid, a distance of 83 miles ; the next day they go to Bessie, 
a distance of 104 miles." The actual mileage covered in three days is 
224 miles, and, as the identical train is handled, it requires 72 actual 
hours to move this train 224 miles. On the return trip the time required 
to move a train the same distance (224 miles), is 96 hours. The crew 
leaves Bessie the first day, going to O'Keene, a distance of 73 miles. 
The second day the same train is moved from O'Keene to Enid, a dis- 
tance of 31 miles. The third day from Enid to Jennings, a distance of 
83 miles, and the fourth day from Jennings to Tulsa, a distance of 37 
miles. The writer ascribes the delay as due to the desire of the officials 
to move everything over the territory with the local freight crew. He 



EXCESSIVE HOURS OF SERVICE 147 

adds, "the loads and empties will be left along the road for a week at a 
time, when the company will run an extra or through freight to clean 
up the line." 

Hugo, Oklahoma: A report from Hugo, Oklahoma, advises that crews 
are worked to the limit of the Law, almost invariably, and cites a number 
of cases in substantiation thereof. 

Memphis, Tennessee: A report from Memphis, Tenn., advises: "We 
are used up to the limit, 16 hours, on practically every trip." 

Monett, Mo.: A report from Monett, Mo., furnished the following 
in substantiation of their statement that engine crews are on duty long 
hours on practically every trip, and making small mileage: 







On Duty 






On 


Duty 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


Jan. 16 


522 


15 


10 


Jan. 19 


1272 


15 


45 


" 16 


1280 


16 




" 19 


522 


9 


05 


" 16 


1270 


16 




" 19 


665 


15 


05 


" 16 


576 


14 


45 


" 19 


1275 


16 




" 16 


1266 


15 


35 


" 19 


745 


14 


15 


" 17 


1278 


14 


30 


" 20 


1273 


16 




" 17 


665 


14 


43 


" 20 


960 


13 


15 


" 17 


1252 


12 




" 20 


1267 


12 


40 


" 18 


661 


11 


30 


" 20 


1270 


16 




" 18 


762 


11 




" 20 


661 


14 


45 


" 18 


960 


11 


25 


" 20 


762 


14 


. 45 


" 18 


1267 


15 


35 


" 20 


762 


6 




" 18 


522 


9 


10 


" 21 


1278 


13 


55 


" 18 


1278 


15 


30 


" 21 


1275 


14 


30 


" 18 


1266 


16 




" 21 


1277 


13 


30 


" 19 


1403 


3 


30(a) 


" 21 


522 


9 




" 19 


1266 


16 




" 21 




14 


30 


" 19 


960 


15 


50 











(a) Running light after a broken passenger engine. 



Fort Scott, Kcmsas: A- report from Ft. Scott, Kansas, advises that 
men work longer hours on almost every trip, and many men are tied up 
under the Sixteen-Hour Law enroute. In substantiation of the foregoing 
they offer the following: 







On 


Duty 










On 


Duty 




Date 


Engine No. 


Hours 


Mins 


Miles 


Date 


Engine No. 


Hours Mins. 


Miles 


Dec. 1 


1298 


11 


50 


88 


Dec. 


23 


1300 


15 


35 




" 2 


1293 


14 


20 


88 




24 


1300 


12 


35 




" 3 


1293 


11 


10 


88 


" 


24 


1290 


15 


15 


60 


" 4 


1293 


12 


25 


88 


" 


25 


1296 


14 


10 




" 5 


1293 


15 


50 


88 


" 


26 


1296 


13 


00 




" 6 


1293 


11 


00 


88 














" 8 


226 


12 


25 


112 


Dec. 


29 


1293 


13 


20 


104 


" 13 


1287 


13 


00 




" 


30 


1303 


12 


24 


104 


" 14 


1283 


11 


50 




" 


31 


567 


11 


45 


108 


" 17 


1288 


15 


05 
















" 17 


1282 


14 


15 




Jan. 


2 


524 


13 


30 


90 


" 17 


777 


12 


30 


104 


" 


3 


524 


15 


35 


85 


" 18 


1304 


16 


00 


88 


" 


5 


1299 


12 


20 


104 


« 19 


1304 


16 


00 


74 


" 


8 


1303 


14 


40 


104 


" 20 


1282 


14 


50 




" 


12 


1296 


15 


10 


88 


" 21 


1300 


14 


45 




" 


14 


1282 


10 


05 


77 


" 21 


661 


13 


36 


105 


" 


19 


1282 


15 


25 




" 22 


661 


16 


00 


90 


" 


20 


1303 


13 


10 




" 22 


1300 


14 


15 






24 


1283 


13 


20 


104 



148 



APPENDIX D 
WABASH RAILWAY. 



Following tabulation shows hours on duty of crews arriving at Hanni- 
bal, Mo., during month of December, 1917 : 



Day of 






On Duty 


Day of 




On 


Duty 


Month 


Train No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Month 


Train No. 


Hours Mins. 


8th 


Ex. 


2305 


17 


30 


" 


" 2330 


14 


30 


" 


" 


882 


14 


50 


" 


" 879 


16 


00 


" 


" 


853 


14 


40 


" 


" 2310 


14 


10 


" 


" 


2321 


13 


2? 


22nd 


" 2317 


15 


35 


9th 


95 


2310 


16 


00 


" 


" 811 


13 


10 


11th 


Ex. 


2330 


13 


00 


" 


" 2305 


14 


50 


" 


" 


2306 


16 


00 


" 


" 2303 


13 


25 


" 


" 


2310 


13 


40 


23 rd 


" 2326 


12 


00 


12th 


" 


2305 


16 


00 


" 


" 2311 


IS 


45 


13th 


" 


2326 


13 


40 


" 


" 2330 


12 


50 


14th 


" 


2317 


16 


00 


" 




15 


00 




" 


2317 


12 


32 




" 2304 


15 


45 


15th 


" 


2310 


18 


35 


24th 


" 2309 


15 


35 


" 


" 


2305 


16 


00 


25th 


" 2319 


16 


00 


" 


" 


2304 


16 


00 


26th 


95 2309 


12 


40 


16th 


Helper 


15 


35 




Ex. 2305 


16 


05 


" 


Ex. 


2303 


16 


00 


27th 


" 861 


12 


25 


17th 




2306 


18 


30 


« 


" 2319 


12 


00 


" 


" 


2317 


15 


30 


27th 


Ex. 2303 


14 


20 


" 


" 


2310 


14 


IS 


28th 


" 2315 


14 


35 


" 


" 


2305 


15 


50 


" 


" 2309 


16 


00 


" 


'.' 


2322 


15 


59 


" 


" 2303 


16 


00 


" 


" 


2326 


16 


00 


29th 


" 2310 


16 


00 


18th 


" 


2307 


16 


00 




" 2316 


16 


00 


" 


" 


882 


13 


20 


30th 


" 2317 


14 


00 


19th 


Ex. 


839 


15 


30 


" 


" 2326 


12 


40 




1/95 


2310 


14 


55 


" 


" 2321 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 


2303 


14 


55 


" 


" 2314 


16 


00 




" 


2316 


13 


00 


31st 


" 2319 


16 


00 


" 


" 


2319 


16 


00 


" 


" 2303 


19 


35 


20th 


" 


2314 


16 


00 




" 2309 


15 


50 


21st 


" 


2309 
2326 


15 
14 


30 
35 




" 2315 


15 


52 






EXCESSIVE ^HOURS OF SERVICE 
WABASH RAILWAY. 



149 



Following tabulation shows hours on duty of crews arriving at Spring- 
field, 111., during month of December, 1917: 



Day of 






On Duty 


Day of 




On Duty 


Month 


Train No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Month 


Train No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


1st 


Ex. 


2323 


11 


45 




" 2310 


14 


05 






2307 


15 


45 


" 


82 2304 


12 


45 


2nd 


" 


2310 


15 


30 


17 th 


Ex. 2307 


13 


44 


" 


" 


2304 


12 


00 


" 


72 839 


15 


42 


3rd 




2319 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 2310 


12 


20 








16 


00 


18th 


" 839 


13 


05 


" 


72 


'891 


13 


17 




" 853 


13 


25 


" 


Ex. 


2304 


12 


25 




1/90 2322 


14 


30 


" 




2314 


13 


45 


19th 


Ex. 2307 


12 


05 


4th 


1/90 


861 


12 


00 


" 


1/82 113 


14 


45 


5th 


Ex. 


2407 


12 


55 


20th 


12 0000 


16 


00 




3/90 


2302 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 2310 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 


2311 


15 


45 


20 th 


Ex. 2319 


13 


15 


6th 




2387 


12 


40 


21st 


82 2314 


14 


10 


7th 


" 


2311 


14 


30 


" 


Ex. 2316 


16 


00 


" 


" 


2322 


15 


38 


22nd 


" 2309 


14 


05 


" 


" 


2307 


16 


00 


" 


" 2326 


11 


40 




" 


2303 


14 


20 


" 


" 2330 


12 


50 


8th 


" 


2319 


14 


05 


23rd 


86 2317 


13 


25 


" 


1/82 2317 


15 


10 




2/82 2305 


12 


00 




Ex. 


2410 


16 


00 


24th 


86 2316 


12 


05 


" 


" 


2408 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 2314 


12 


35 


" 


" 


2311 


16 


00 


25th 


" 2313 


12 


30 


9th 


" 


2314 


16 


00 


26th 


" 2315 


14 


11 




1/82 


2323 


15 


00 


" 


" 423 


13 


25 


10th 


86 


2310 


16 


20 


27th 


86 2316 


12 


10 


11th 


Ex. 


2307 


14 


25 


28th 


Ex. 2319 


13 


40 


" 


86 


2317 


15 


05 


" 


1/82 2317 


15 


50 


" 


Ex. 


2304 


13 


30 




2/82 2305 


16 


00 


13th 




653 


15 


45 


" 


72 826 


14 


15 


" 


" 


2305 


13 


32 


30th 


1/90 2304 


13 


20 


" 


" 


815 


12 


00 


" 


Ex. 2303 


14 


20 


14th 


" 


2323 


16 


00 


'* 


52 


12 


55 


" 


90 


2306 


13 


05 


" 


Ex. 2317 


16 


00 


" 


Ex. 


2323 


16 


00 


" 


" 423 


13 


43 


15th 




2303 


14 


30 


" 


" 2314 


16 


00 




" 


2317 


11 


30 


31st 


1/82 2326 


13 


35 


16th 




2330 


16 


00 




Ex. 2310 


14 


10 






150 



APPENDIX D 
WESTERN MARYLAND RAILWAY. 



Reports inform Hours of Service Law generally observed, but crews 
on duty long hours notwithstanding. The following cases are cited in 
evidence : 



Day of 








On Duty 


Month 


Er 


gine No. 


Hours 


Mins. 


Jan. 14 






779 


16 


30 


" IS 






758 


15 


55 


" 17 






758 


25 


00* 


" 17 






760 


16 


30 


" 19 






783 


24 


30" 


" 20 






782 


J 4 


30* 


" 21 






783 


15 


55 


" 21 


1st Nc 


204 


16 




" 23 






782 


16 


30 


" 23 


Tr. 


No 


123 


17 


55* 


" 24 


Tr 


No 


122 


15 


59 



♦Under pay for time specified, but relieved at expiration of sixteen hours and towed to terminal. 

No violations of the Hours of Service Law are reported from a large 
number of roads, but statements show that "the hours of service are 
becoming more excessive, especially on the local freights and in yards. 
They work from fourteen to fifteen hours every day." 



APPENDIX E. 

AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON 
WESTERN RAILROADS. 

The following table which has been prepared from the exhibits sub- 
mitted by the Conference Committee of Managers of Western Rail- 
roads during the Engineers' and Firemen's Arbritration in 1914-1915, 
shows by railroads the excessive hours which hostlers are required to 
work. 

AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS. 
[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers', 
Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration, 1914-15.] 
Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 



Number 

of 
hostlers. 



Kind 

of 

service. 



Average 




Average 


days 


Total 


hours 


worked. 


hours. 


per day. 


29.9 


3,198.0 


11.5 


27.7 


3,199.0 


11.5 


26.1 


2,482.0 


11.9 


29.8 


2,013.0 


11.2 


28.6 


2,847.5 


11.1 


27.0 


3,609.5 


11.1 


22.5 


2,001.0 


11.1 


21.7 


4.004.0 


11.3 


30.0 


2,974.0 


11.0 


20.2 


2,012.0 


11.1 


28.8 


1,592.0 


11 1 


25.4 


2,463.0 


10.8 


30.2 


1,683.0 


11.1 


29.0 


1,275.3 


11.0 


28.2 


2,369.5 


11.2 


26.4 


1,457.0 


11.0 


31.0 


1.365.0 


11.0 


26.0 


1,772.0 


•11.4 


22.2 


2,955.0 


11.1 


30.5 


1,476.0 


12.1 


27.5 


5,75.5.0 


11.0 


30.0 


300.0 


10.0 


23.4 


2,532.0 


12.0 


29.8 


2,079.0 


11.6 


27.3 


1,199.0 


11.0 


28.5 


13.017,0 


11.1 


24.9 


8,069.0 


12.0 


25.9 


13,961.0 


12.2 


22.2 


8,100.0 


12.1 


27.3 


7,542.0 


12.1 



Range 

in 
houis. 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 
Ry. 

Eastern Lines — 

Illinois Division 

Missouri Division 

Kansas City Division .... 

Eastern Division 

Southern Kansas Division 

Middle Division 

Oklahoma Division 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa FeRy. 
Western Lines — * 

Rio Grande Division 

Panhandle Division 

Plains Division 

Pecos Division. 

New Mexico Division .... 

Colorado Division 

Western Division 

Arkansas River Division. . 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. 
Coast Lines — 

Albuquerque Division. . . . 

Arizona Division 

Los Angeles Division .... 
Valley Division 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. 
Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoe- 
nix Lines — 

No Division given 

Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe— 
Concho, San Saba & Liano Val- 
ley R. R. 

All Divisions 

Texas Gulf Ry 

Baltimore & Ohio, Chicago Ter 

minal R. R 

Chicago & Western Indiana R. R. 
— Belt Ry of Chicago 



Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Ry. 
Canadian Northern Ry 



Canadian Pacific Ry. 

Lines West of Fort William 
Saskatchewan Division. . . 

Manitoba Division 

Alberta Division 

British Columbia Division 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Dispatch 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



11.0 to 12.4 
10.0 to 12.1 
11.4to 12.0 
11.0 to 13.0 
11.0 to 11.7 
10.0 to 12.0 
10.0 to 12.0 



10.0 to 13.7 
10.5 to 11.6 
ll.Oto 11.2 
11.0 to 11.3 
9.9 to 11.8 
10.0 to 12.4 
10.9 to 11.0 
ll.Oto 12.0 



11.0 to 11.0 
11.0 to 11.0 
11 to 12.0 
ll.Oto 11.3 



12.0 to 12.3 

ll.Oto 11.3 
10.0 to 10.0 

12.0to 12.0 

ll.Oto 13.0 

ll.Oto 11.0 

ll.Oto 13.6 



12.0 to 12.0 
ll.Oto 13.7 
10.0 to 12.8 
11.7 to 12.9 



•"Including Southern Kansas Ry. of Texas, Pecos River R. R., Pecos & Northern Texas Ry., Rio Grande 
& El Paso R. R. 

151 



152 



APPENDIX E 



AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS. 

Continued. 

[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers.' 

Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration, 1914-15.] 

Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 



Number 

of 
hostlers. 



Kind 

of 

service. 



Average 

days 
worked. 



Total 
hours. 



Average 

hours 
per day. 



Chicago & Alton R. R. 

Combined Divisions 



Chicago & Northwestern Ry. 

Dakota Division 

Eastern Division 

Black Hills Division . . 
Terminal Division .... 
Wisconsin Division .... 
North Wisconsin Division 

Galena Division 

East Iowa Division 

West Iowa Division 

Iowa and Minnesota Divi 



Northern Iowa Division. 
Madison Division 



Chicago & Northwestern Ry. 
Lake Shore Division. . 

Ashland Division 

Peninsular Division. . . 
Minnesota Division. . . 



Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 



R. R. 



Chicago Division 

Aurora Division 

Galesburg Division 

La Crosse Division 

Ottumwa & Burlington Di 

vision 

Creston Division 

Centerville Division 

Hannibal Division 

Brookfield Division 

St. Joseph Division 

Beardstown Division 



Union Pacific R. R. 

Omaha Division. . 
Lincoln Division. . 
Wymore Division . 
McCook Division. 
Sterling Division.. 
Alliance Division. 
Sheridan Division. 



Chicago, Great Western R. R. 

Eastern Division 

Western Division 

Southern Division 

Oelwein Terminal Divi 
sion 



Chicago Junction Ry. 

U. S. Yards Division. 



Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Ry. 

Eastern Lines — 

Milwaukee Division . . 
Dubuque Division. . . . 
Minneapolis Division.. 



Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Ry. 

Puget Sound Lines . . . 



Paul 



Tacoma Eastern R. R. 



100 
28 

40 



Hostling 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 

Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 



Day and 

Night 
Hostling 
Hostlini; 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Dispatch 
Dispatch 
Dispatch 

Dispatch 
Dispatch 

Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 



29.3 
28.0 
29.1 
18.3 
24.9 
29.0 
28.7 
26.0 
28.0 

22.5 
29.0 
26.6 



30.0 
26.0 
18.0 
24.0 



29.4 
23.5 
25.5 
30.6 

31.0 
30.6 
28.6 
29.1 
29.7 
28.5 
25.9 



31.0 
28.0 
29.3 
28.1 
24.0 
28.9 
30.6 



20.2 
9.9 
30.5 



24.3 
24.0 

24.4 



22.8 
15.0 



1,049.0 
2,017.0 
2,100.0 

703.0 
8.171.0 

735.0 
5,302.0 

942.0 
2,362.0 

1,080.0 

348.0 

3,556.0 



724.0 
,905 . 
.092 . 

288.0 



4,169.5 
1,321.0 
3,672.0 

2,584.5 

2,237.5 
2.534.0 
1,792.5 
3,710.0 
2,261.5 
5,209.0 
2,991.2 



742.0 
3,921.5 

995.0 
1,827.0 

865.0 
2,987.0 
2,527.0 



1,331.0 
1,417.0 
2,113.0 

1,158.0 
2,574.0 



31,080.0 
8,154.0 
12.157.0 



1.517.0 
360.0 



12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.8 
12.9 
12.7 
12.3 
12.1 
12.1 

12.0 
12.0 
12.1 



12.0 
12.2 
12.1 
12.0 



11.8 
11.4 
11.1 

12.1 

12.0 
11.8 
12.5 
11.6 
11.0 
11.4 
11.5 



12.0 
11.7 
11.4 
10.8 
12.0 
11.5 
11.8 



11.0 
11.9 
11.6 

119 
12.0 



12.8 
12.1 
12.3 



12.1 
12.0 



HOURS OF LABOR OP HOSTLERS 



153 



AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS. 

Continued. 

[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers, 

Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration, 1914-15.] 

Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 





Number 

of 
hostlers. 


Kind 

of 

service. 


Average 

days 
worked. 


Total 
hours. 


Average 

hours 
per day. 


Range 

i n 
hours. 


Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 
Ry.; 
Chicago, Rock'Island &Gulf Ry. 
Chicago Terminal & Illinois. 
Divisions Consolidated . . . 


33 
11 
11 
15 
20 
2 
3 

5 

4 
19 

7 
6 
4 
14 
3 
7 
7 
3 
2 
2 

4 
3 

8 
5 
5 
3 

16 
18 
3 
9 
5 
12 

1 
1 

17 

5 
2 


Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 

Yard 
All 
All 

Yard 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Yard 
Hostling 

Yard 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 
Ft & Pass. 
Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 


27.4 
31.0 
26.5 
25.9 
17.2 
31.0 
31.0 

26.8 

27.2 
19.0 
30.3 
24.6 
31.0 
29.1 
31.0 
26.6 
30.7 
31.0 
31.0 
31.0 

27.5 
26.2 
18.3 

21.7 
29.4 
30.4 
17.0 

24.7 
30.8 
30.3 
27.3 
29.6 
25.6 

6.0 
12.0 

27.4 

27.8 
15.5 


10,626.0 
4,092.0 
3,124.0 
4,559.5 
4,422.0 
708.0 
1,085.0 

1,513.0 

1,288.0 
3,936.0 
2,366.0 
1,760.0 
1,488.0 
4,876.0 
1,116.0 
2,149.5 
2,575.0 
1,074.5 
682.0 
682.0 

3,596.0 

1,046.0 

550.0 

2,095.0 

1,770.0 

1,860.0 

612.0 

4,774.0' 
6,679.0 
1,092.0 
2,967.0 
1,836.0 
3,593.0 

72.0 
156.0 

5,555.0 

1,562.0 

335.5 


11.8 
12.0 
10.7 
11.7 
12.9 
11.4 
11.7 

11.3 

11.8 
11.0 
11.1 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
11.6 
12.0 
11.5 
11.0 
11.0 

11.1 
10.0 
10.0 

12.0 
12.0 
12.2 
12.0 

12.1 
12.1 
12.0 
12.6 
12.4 
11.1 

12.0 
13.0 

11.9 

11.2 
10.8 


11.0 to 12.3 
12.0 to 12.0 
10.0 to 12.0 
10.0 to 14.0 
ll.Oto 19.9 

10.8 to 12.0 
ll.Oto 12.0 

8.8 to 12.5 

11.7 to 12.0 

10.9 to U.O 

10.7 to 13.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0to 12.0 

11.8 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
10.0 to 12.0 
ll.Oto 12.7 
ll.Oto 11.9 
ll.Oto 11.0 
ll.Oto U.O 

10.3 to 12.3 
10.0 to 10.0 
10.0 to 10.0 

12.0 to 12.2 
12.0 to 12.2 
12.0 to 13.0 
12.0 to 12.0 

12.0 to 12.5 
12.0 to 12.4 
12.0 to 12.0 
11.8 to 12.5 
12.0 to 13.1 
7.0 to 12.6 

12.0 to 12.0 
13.0 to 13.0 

8.3 to 15.0 

ll.Oto 12.1 
10.5 to U.O 


Missouri Division 

Cedar Rapids Division . . . 
Minnesota Division 


D. M. Valley Division. . . 

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 
Ry.; 
Chicago, Rock Island &GulfRy. 

St. Louis Division 

Kansas City Terminal 




El Paso Division 

Nebraska Division 

Colorado Division 

Arkansas Division 

Louisiana Division 

Indian Territory Division 

Oklahoma Division 

Pan Handle Division 

Southern Division 

Amarillo Division 

Colorado & Southern Ry. 

Northern Division 

Southern Division 

South Park Division 

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha Ry. 


Northern Division 

M. & I. Division 

Nebraska Division 

Denver & Rio Grande R. R. 








Green River Division .... 
Salt Lake Division 

Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic 
Ry 




El Paso & Southwestern Ry 


Fort Worth & Denver City Ry . . 







154 



APPENDIX E 



AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS.- 

Continued. 

[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers', 

Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration. 1914-15.] 

Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 



Number 

of 
hostlers. 



Kind 

of 

service. 



Average 

days 
worked. 



Total 
hours. 



Average 

hours 
per day. 



Range 

in 
hours. 



Great Northern System — 

Terminal Division 

Willmar Division 

Sioux City Division 

Dakota Division 

Minot Division 

Superior & Mesabi Divi 

sion 

Northern Division 

Fergus Falls Division. . . 

Montana Division 

Butte Division 

Kalispell Division 

Spokane Division 

Marcus Division 

Cascade Division 

Illinois Central R. R. 

Illinois Division 

St. Ix>uis Division 

Springfield Division 

Indiana Division 

Wisconsin Division 

Minnesota Division 

Iowa Division 

Kentucky Division 

Tennessee Division 

Mississippi Division. . . . 

Louisiana Division 

Memphis Division 

Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Ry. 

Vicksburg Division 

New Orleans Division . . . 

International & Great Northern 

Gulf Division 

Fort Worth Division. . 
San Antonio Division . 



Kansas City Southern Ry.; Tex 
arkana & Ft. Smith Ry. 

All Divisions 

Kansas City Terminal Ry 

Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault 
Ste Marie Ry 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas Ry. . 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas Ry. 
Texas 

Texas Central R. R 

Wichita Falls Lines 

Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf Ry 



Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Yard 



Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



28.0 
19.3 
31.0 
30.0 
20.6 

28.4 
30.0 
31.0 
21.4 
15.2 
29.0 
27.0 
15.5 
31.0 



29.7 
30.0 
30.0 
29.0 
23.4 
16.3 
30.1 
26.8 
28.6 
28.8 
26 
31.0 



30.2 
25.4 



27.0 
29.0 

25.2 



24.0 
31.0 

27.3 
24.7 

26.8 
10.0 
31.0 
19.0 



2,370.0 

638.0 

341.0 

1,320.0 

2.472.0 

2,724.0 

1.080.0 

372.0 

2,181.0 

1,644.0 

696.0 

297.0 

372.0 

2,604.0 



16,341.0 
6,669.5 
1,405.0 
2.399.0 
2,908.0 
2,730.0 
3,094.0 
3.554.2 
3,900.0 
5,642.0 
5.484.0 
1.335.0 



.083.0 
.985.0 



2,419.0 
2.436 
1,386.0 



2,553.0 
662.0 

14.535.5 
6,792.0 

2,892.0 

2,400.0 

372.0 

1,800.0 



12.1 
11.0 
11.0 
11.0 
12.0 

12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.7 
12.0 
12.0 
11.0 
12.0 
12.0 



11.2 
12.3 
11.7 
11.9 
11.3 
11.5 
11.4 
12.1 
12.4 
11.5 
11.1 
10.8 



12.0 
11.2 



12.8 
12.0 
11.0 



11.7 
10.7 

10.5 
12.0 

12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 



12 to 12.6 
11.0 to 11.0 
11.0 to 11.0 
11.0 to 11.0 
12 Oto 12.0 

12. Oto 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
11.0 to 16 2 
12.0 to 12.0 
12. Oto 12.0 
11 Oto 11.0 
12.0 to 12 
12.0 to 12.0 



10.0 to 13.2 

11.1 to 12.9 
11. Oto 12.0 
11.0 to 12.0 
10.9 to 12.1 
10.0 to 13.1 

10.2 to 12.6 
12.0 to 12.2 
11.9 to 17.7 
10.0 to 13.8 
10.0 to 12.0 

9.3 to 12.0 



11.9 to 12.0 
10.0 to 12.8 



12.0 to 18.3 
11.5 to 12.8 
10.4 to 12 9 



11.0 to 12.2 
10.4 to 11.0 

10.0 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 

12.0 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
12. Oto 12.0 
12. Oto 12 



HOURS OF LABOR OF HOSTLERS 



155 



AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS.- 

Continued. 

[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers', 

Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration, 1914-15.] 

Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 



Number 

of 
hostlers. 



Kind 
of 



Average 

days 
worked. 



Total 
hours. 



Average 

hours 
per day. 



Range 



Missouri Pacific Ry.; St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. 

Omaha Division 

Wichita Division 

Joplin Division 

Colorado Division 

Eastern Division 

Northern Kansas Division 
Southern Kansas Division 
Central Kansas Division . 
St. Louis Terminal Divi- 



City Terminal 

Division 

Louisiana Division 

Illinois Division 

Valley Division 

Memphis Division 

Arkansas Division 

Central Division 

White River Division .... 
Missouri Division 



Northern Pacific Ry. 

Lake Superior Division 

St. Paul Division 

Minnesota Division . . . 

Fargo Division 

Dakota Division 

Yellowstone Division. . 
Montana Division. . . . 

Idaho Division 

Pasco Division 

Rocky Mountain Division 

Seattle Division 

Tacoma Division 



Oregon-Washington R 
Navigation Co. 

First Division . . . 
Second Division. 
Fourth Division. 



St. Louis & San Francisco R. R 
All Divisions 



Oregon Short Line R. R. 



St. Louis Brownsville & Mexico 
R. R 



St. Louis San Francisco & Texas 
Ry. 

Sherman Division .... 



Fort Worth & Rio Grande Ry. 
Fort Worth Division 



St. Louis Southwestern Ry. 
A. & M. Division 



St. Louis Southwestern Ry. of 
Texas. 

Texas Division 



San Antonio & Aransas Pass Ry 
System Divisions 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Disp. 

Yard 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 



San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt 
Lake R. R. 

Los Angeles Division. 
Salt Lake Division 



Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 



23.5 
30.5 
29.0 
28.0 
30.7 
22.0 
22.8 
31.0 

24.6 

28.7 
22.0 
20.0 
25.2 
28.5 
26.5 
22.5 
30.5 
27.0 



21.1 
28.5 
26.2 
30.0 
23.0 
28.3 
27.0 
27.7 
26.0 
25.6 
31.0 
26.6 



26.7 
26.3 
27.0 



26.0 
27.8 

20.0 

31.0 
30.5 
28.6 

29.0 
22.8 



26.4 
24.7 



1,692.0 
2,193.0 
1,386.5 
1,020.0 
2,243.0 
528.0 
1,507.0 
1,890.0 

3,285.0 

4,887.0 
1,320.0 

240.0 
1,512.0 

684.0 
5,441.0 

540.0 

732.0 
2,612.0 



2,915.0 
1,365.0 
1,721.5 
600.0 
915.0 
2,134.0 
1,890.0 
2,292.0 
1,798.0 
1,536.0 
1,860.0 
1,686.0 



3,198.0 
3,789.0 
2,904.0 



20,519.0 
6,426.0 

454.0 

1,065.0 
2,259.0 
2,779.0 

1,205.0 
1,048.0 



4,150.0 
1,765.0 



12.0 
12.0 
12.1 
12.0 
12.2 
12.0 
11.0 
12.2 

12.1 

11.6 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.1 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 



11.5 
12.0 
11.0 
10.0 
9.9 
10.7 
10.0 
12.0 
11.5 
12.0 
12.0 
12.7 



11.9 
12.0 
11.9 



12.0 
12.2 



11.4 

12.4 
12.1 

10.4 
11.5 



12.1 
11.9 



12.0 to 12.0 

12.0 to 12.0 
11.8 to 12.5 
12.0to 12.0 

12.1 to 12.9 
12.0 to 12.0 

11.0 to 11.0 

12.1 to 12.6 

12.0 to 13.0 

11.3 to 12.4 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.5 
12.0 to 12.0 
12.0to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.0 



10.0 to 12.1 
11.9 to 12.1 
10.8 to 11.0 
10.0 to 10.0 
9.8 to 10.0 
lO.Oto 11.0 
10.0 to 10.0 
12.0 to 12.0 
10.0 to 12.0 
12.0to 12.0 
12.0to 12.0 
12.0 to 14.9 



11.8 to 12.0 
12.0to 12.1 
11.8 to 12.0 



12.0to 12.0 

12.0 to 12.8 

11.1 to 11.7 

10.8 to 12.0 
12.0 to 12.9 

12.0 to 13.0 

10.1 to 11.0 
10.0 to 12.0 



11.9 to 12.7 
11.4 to 12.0 



156 



APPENDIX E 



AVERAGE HOURS WORKED PER DAY BY HOSTLERS ON WESTERN RAILROADS. 

Concluded. 

[Compiled from Exhibit submitted by Conference Committee of Managers', 

Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration, 1914-15.] 

Service; average days worked; total hours; average hours per day and range in hours. 



Number 

of 
hostlers. 



Kind 

of 

service. 



Average 

days 
worked. 



Total 
hours. 



Average 

hours 
per day. 





Range 

in 
hours. 


11 

12 
11 
12 
12 
12 
12 
10 
12 


.0 to 12.0 
.0 to 11.0 
.0 to 12.0 
7 to 12.0 
to 12.0 
.0 to 12.0 
.0 to 12.0 
.0 to 12.0 
.1 to 16.3 
.2 to 12.2 


11 


.0 to 13.4 


10 


.0 to 12.0 


10.0 to 12.0 


11 


.2 to 13.6 


12 


to 12.0 


11 
11 


to 12.3 
to 12.3 


11 
9 


to 11.0 

1 to 12.7 


10 


to 10.2 


li 
10 
12 

10 


8 to 12.4 
6 to 12.2 
to 12.3 
8 to 13.0 


12 


to 12.0 


11 


7 to 13.1 


11 


9 to 13.3 


11 


6 to 12.9 


11 


8 to 12.0 


11 


9 to 12.0 


12.0 to 12.4 
12.0to 12.3 



Southern Pacific Co. Pacific Sys 
tern. 

Coast Division 

Western Division 

Stockton Division 

Sacramento Division 

Salt Lake Division 

Portland Division 

Los Angeles Division 

Tucson Division 

Shasta Division 

San Joaquin Division 



Sunset Central Lines 

G.H.&S..T. &N. O., M.L.& 
T., L. W 

Sunset Central Lines 

H. & T. C, H. E. & W. T., 

H. &S 



Spokane Portland & Seattle R. R 

Including Oregon Trunk 

Ry 



Terminal R. R. Assn. of St. Louis 

Wiggins Ferry Co. Comprising 

East St. Louis Connecting St 

Louis Transfer Ry 



Texas & Pacific Ry. 

Rio Grande Division 

Eastern Division 

Trans Continental Divi 
sion 

Louisiana Division 

Fort Worth Terminal Di 

vision 

Union Pacific R. R. 

Kansas Division 

Colorado Division 

Wyoming Division 

Nebraska Division 



Union Stock Yards of Omaha . . 

Wabash R. R. — Lines of Detroit 
& Toledo 

Detroit Division 

Peru Division 

Moberly Division 

Decatur Division 

Springfield Division 

Western Pacific Ry. 

Eastern Division 

Western Division 



Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 



Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 

Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 
Hostling 

Hostling 



Eng. Yard 

only 
Eng. Yard 

only 
Eng. Yard 

only 
Eng. Yard 

only 
Eng. Yard 

only 



Hostling 
Hostling 



29.1 
31.0 
24.0 
29.6 
31.0 
28 3 
28.0 
30.3 
28.4 
28.8 



30.0 
29.0 



29.5 
20.7 



29.0 
28.7 
26.0 
29.1 

31.0 



29.3 
29.3 
28.3 
29.6 

28.7 



22.0 
23.4 



4.411.0 
4,774.0 
576.0 
3,173.0 
4,836.0 
3,060.0 
2,761.0 
3.245.0 
4,174.0 
3,456.0 



1,741.0 
4,574.8 



1,700.0 
1,076.0 

649.0 
690.0 

1,877.0 

3,170.0 
3,750.0 
5,944.0 
7,698.0 

744.0 



2,484.0 
3,225.0 
6,092.0 
4,962.0 
2,053.0 



2.384.0 
2,549.0 



11.7 
11.0 
12.0 
11.9 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
12.2 
12.2 



11.6 

12.2 



10.1 

12.1 
11.9 
12.1 
12.0 



12.1 
12.1 
12.1 
12.0 
11.9 



HOURS OF LABOR OF HOSTLERS 



157 



INCREASED FREIGHT TRAIN LOADS. 

The additional work which has been imposed upon locomotive fire- 
men during recent years is also clearly indicated by the constant addi- 
tions to the length and weight of trains. In addition to locomotives 
of greater trackage power, cars of larger capacity have been installed, 
and roadbed and rails strengthened so that the heavier equipment 
and longer trains may be used. This development of so-called operat- 
ing efficiency has brought more constant and arduous labor to the 
fireman. He has had to handle more fuel for the larger locomotives 
to haul the longer and heavier trains. The remarkable increase in freight 
train loads in 1916 as compared with 1911 and 1914 is set forth in the 
following table, which shows the development along these lines by 
representative railroads in all sections of the country. These data 
have been taken from the records of the Interstate Commerce Com- 
mission. 



INCREASE IN AVERAGE FREIGHT TRAIN LOADS BY LEADING RAILROADS 
IN THE EAST, WEST AND SOUTH. (1911-1916.) 



Railway. 









Tons 


Per cent 


Train Load. 


increase 
Dec. 31, 1916. 


increase 
Dec. 31, 1916. 








over 


over 






Dec. 31, 










1911 


1914 


1916 


1911 


1914 


1911 


1914 


671 


730 


810 


139 


80 


20.7 


11.0 


441 


619 


751 


310 


132 


70.3 


21.3 


290 


304 


327 


37 


23 


12.8 


7.6 


520 


588 


681 


161 


93 


31.0 


15.8 


521 


590 


682 


161 


92 


30.9 


15.6 


501 




685 


184 




36.7 




247 


314 


373 


126 


59 


51.0 


18.8 


583 


652 


770 


187 


118 


32.1 


18.1 


544 


595 


654 


110 


59 


20.2 


9.9 


418 


474 


602 


184 


128 


44.0 


27.0 


445 


507 


654 


209 


147 


47.0 


29.0 


424 


453 


580 


156 


127 


36.8 


28.0 


344 


394 


517 


173 


123 


50.3 


31.2 


542 


555 


560 


18 


5 


3.3 


0.9 


467 


532 


674 


207 


142 


44.3 


26.7 


327 


358 


495 


168 


137 


51.4 


38.3 


1159 


1162 


1436 


277 


274 


23.9 


23.6 


320 


431 


562 


242 


131 


75.6 


30.4 


528 


587 


645 


117 


58 


22.2 


9.9 


342 


345 


434 


92 


89 


26.9 


25.8 


24(1 


275 


362 


122 


87 


50.8 


31.6 


361 


417 


550 


189 


133 


52.4 


31.9 


275 


297 


421 


146 


124 


53.1 


41.8 


647 


802 


980 


333 


178 


51.5 


22.2 


683 


870 


1007 


324 


137 


47.4 


15.7 



Eastern District: 

Pennsylvania Railroad 

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 

New York, New Haven & Hartford 

Pennsylvania Company 

Erie Railroad 

Philadelphia & Reading 

Boston & Maine 

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. 
Lehigh Valley 

Pittsburgh, Cin., Chi. & St. L 

Cleveland, Cin., Chi. & St. L 

Michigan Central 

Wabash Ry 

Central Railroad of New Jersey . . . 

Delaware & Hudson Co 

Phila., Baltimore & Washington. . . 

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 

Pere Marquette (Rec.) 

Chicago & Eastern Illinois R. R. . . 
New York, Chicago & St. Lou's. . . 

Southern District: 

Southern Railway 

Illinois Central 

Louisville & Nashville 

Norfolk & Western 

Chesapeake & Ohio R. R 



APPENDIX F. 
INCREASED TRACTIVE -POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES. 

The steady growth in the average tractive power of locomotives in 
use on American railroads during the period 1907-1916 is set forth in the 
table below. The showing is by the different classifications prescribed 
by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The data are taken from 
the records of that body. 

AVERAGE TRACTIVE POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES, 1907-1916 



Number. 


Average tractive 

power. 

(Per loco.) 


51,891 

1,727 

945 


25.439 
34.345 
34,138 


'54.230 
* 1.714 
« 923 
56,867 


25,988 
35,288 
31,378 
23,356 


'53,977 
» 1,603 
' 888 
56,468 


26,300 
35.173 
31.509 
26,634 


1 '55.867 

'= 1.511 

'3 862 

58,240 


26,891 
39.440 
31,326 
27.282 


"57,963 

>« 1,407 

17 792 

60,162 


27.771 
32,928 
32,157 
27,949 


"58,842 

= » 1,418 

= ' 750 

61,010 


28.482 
33,024 

32.282 
28,634 


"60.131 

2* 1,373 

as 707 

62,211 


29,595 
33,038 
32.339 
29,702 


= '61.518 
»» 1,333 
»• 659 

63.510 


30,346 
33.086 
31,931 
30,420 



U907: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

=1908: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

•1909: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

i°1910: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

i*1911: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

"1912: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

"1913: 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 

361914; 

Single expansion 

Four-cylinder compound 

Two-cylinder compound 

Total — average per locomotive 



158 



TRACTIVE POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES 



159 



INCREASE IN AVERAGE FREIGHT TRAIN LOADS BY LEADING RAILROADS 
IN THE EAST, WEST AND SOUTH. (1911-1916.)— Continued. 



Railway. 



911 


1914 


208 


225 


220 


259 


348 


384 


214 


199 


264 


280 


305 


323 


422 


411 


132 


1410 


140 


136 


407 


422 


152 


193 


385 


377 


221 


286 


182 


211 


200 


307 


474 


471 


395 


420 


275 


380 


406 


479 


277 


348 


524 


663 


461 


567 


270 


306 


441 


429 


221 


297 


328 


404 


355 


452 


225 


268 


291 


389 


513 


498 


259 


337 


274 


307 


222 


249 


407 


447 


396 


441 



Dec. 31 
1916 



Tons 

increase 

Dec. 31, 1916, 

over 



Per cent 

increase 

Dec. 31, 1916, 

over 



Southern District (continued.) 

Atlantic Coast Line 

Seaboard Air Line 

Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 

Nashville, Chatt. & St. Louis 
Centra! of Georgia 

Mobile & Ohio 

Cin., New Orleans & Tex. Pac. . . 

Virginian 

Florida East Coast 

Alabama Great Southern 

Norfolk Southern 

New Orleans & Northeastern .... 
Richmond, Fred. & Potomac. . . . 
Georgia Railroad (Lessee Organ . ) 
Atlanta, Birminghad & Atlantic . . 



Western District: 

Southern Pacific Co 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 

Chicago, Burl. & Quincy 

Chicago & North Western 

Great Northern Railway 

Northern Pacific 

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 

Union Pacific 

St. Louis & San Francisco 

Minn., St. Paul & S. S. Marie 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 

Missouri, Kan. & Texas 

Missouri Pacific 

Oregon Short Line 

Denver & Rio Grande 

Chicago, St. Paul, Minn. & O 

Texas & Pacific 

Oregon- Wash. R. R. & Nav. Co 

Chicaeo & Alton 



308 
344 
555 
275 
344 

430 
499 
1576 
276 
559 

258 
565 
372 
279 
423 



526 
429 

442 



342 
493 
510 
387 
423 
591 



378 
2<>8 
45 7 
487 



100 
124 
207 
61 



125 
77 
444 
136 
152 



151 
97 

223 



48.1 
56.4 
59.5 
28.5 
30.3 

41.0 
18.2 
39.2 
97.1 
37.3 

69.7 
46.8 
68.3 
53.3 
111.5 



11.0 
8.6 
60.7 



26.1 
38.2 



54.8 
50.3 
43.7 
72.0 
45.4 
15.2 



38.0 
34.2 
12.2 
23.0 



36.9 
32.8 
44.5 
38.2 
22.9 



102.9 
32.5 

33.7 
49.9 
30.1 
32.2 
37.8 



11.7 
2.1 
16.3 



-0.2 
12.3 



15.2 
22.0 
12.8 
44.4 
8.7 
18.7 



23.1 
19.7 
2.2 
10.4 



160 APPENDIX F 

AVERAGE TRACTIVE POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES, 1907-1916 





Drivers 69 inches 

or less 

in diameter. 


Drivers more than 

69 inches 

in diameter. 


Switching 


Number. 


Average 
tractive 
capacity. 


Number. 


Average 
tractive 
capacity. 


Number. 


Average 
tractive 
capacity. 


1915: 

Class I roads 

Class II roads 


47,246 

1.803 

49.049 

140 

46,137 

1,699 

47,836 

125 


33,200 

22,247 
32,797 

28,033 

34,234 
22,581 
33,820 

32,878 


6,418 

22 

6,440 


27,811 
21,109 
27,788 


8,218 

143 

8,361 

1,246 

8.237 

160 

8,397 

1,310 


27,164 
23,294 
27,098 

29,579 

27,867 
24,492 
27.802 

30,286 


191 5w 

Switching and ter- 
minal companies.. 

1916: 

Class I road 

Class II roads 

Total 

1916: 

Switching and ter- 
minal companies . 


6,416 

14 

6,430 


28,075 
22,764 
28,063 







1 Excludes 825 unclassified locomotives. 

2 Excludes 831 unclassified locomotives and includes 858 locomotives in service of switching and 
terminals companies. 

3 Includes 2,059 oil-burning locomotives. 

4 Includes 236 oil-burning locomotives. 
6 Includes 59 oil-burning locomotives. 

6 Excludes locomotives in service of switching and terminal companies, also 744 unclassified. 
' Includes 2,416 oil-burning locomotives. 

8 Includes 222 oil-burning locomotives. 

9 Includes 49 oil-burning locomotives. 

10 Excludes locomotives in service of switching and terminal companies, also 707 unclassified. 
1 ' includes 2,695 oil-burning locomotives. 
1 : includes 245 oil-burning locomotives. 

1 3 Includes 41 oil-burning locomotives. 

14 Excludes locomotivesi n service of switching and terminal companies, also 730 unclassified ami 435 
Mallet type. 

15 Includes 3,221 oil-burning locomotives. 

1 6 includes 310 oil-burning locomotives. 
1 ' Includes 34 oil-burning locomotives. 

"Excludes locomotives in service of switching and terminal companies, 534 of the Mallet type and 
534 unclassified. 

1 » Includes 3,689 oil-burning locomotives. 
2 ° Includes 333 oil-burning locomotives. 
2 ' Includes 30 oil-burning locomotives. 

22 Excludes locomotives in service of roads having operating revenues below $100,000 for the year; 
also those in service of switching and terminal companies — 717 of the Mallet type, and 450 unclassified. 

23 includes 3,716 oil-burning locomotives. 

24 Includes 310 oil-burning locomotives. 

25 Includes 29 oil-burning locomotives. 

2 « Excludes locomotives in service of roads having operating revenues S100.000 for the year, also those 
in service of switching and terminal companies — 775 of the Mallet type, and 475 unclassified. 
2 ' Includes 3,846 oil-burning locomotives. 
2 » Includes 269 oil-burning locomotives. 
29 Includes 25 oil-burning locomotives. 






APPENDIX G. 



AGE LIMITS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF ENGINEERS AND FIREMEN. 

The statement submitted below has also been taken from the data 
submitted by the Conference T^ommittee of Managers of Western rail- 
roads during the Engineers' and Firemen's Arbitration of 1914-1915. It 
shows for 1910 and 1913 the age limits for the employment of engineers 
and firemen- „ 

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE OF MANAGERS, WESTERN TERRITORY, CHICAGO. 
ENGINEERS' AND FIREMEN'S WAGE MOVEMENT, 1914. 

AGE LIMIT FOR EMPLOYMENT OF ENGINEERS AND FIREMEN. 



Age limit for employment. 



Engineers. Firemen 



Engineers. Firemen 



-Eastern 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa F( 

Lines 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe — Western 
Lines (Including Southern Kansas of 
Texas, Pecos River, Pecos & Northern 
Texas, Rio Grande & El Paso) 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe — Coast Lines 

Grand Canyon (Report included with 
A. T. & S. F. Ry.— Coast Lines) . 
A. T. & S. F — Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix 

Lines 

Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, Concho, San 

Saba & Llano Valley 

Texas & Gulf 

Gulf & Interstate of Texas 



No age limit 

45 
45 
45 



/*27 
1 35 
(*27 
1 35 



Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal 

Chicago & Western Indiana Belt Ry. of 

Chicago (Firemen only) 

Canadian Northern 

Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific 

Canadian Pacific — Lines West of Fort 

William , 



Chicago & Alton . 



Chicago & Northwestern . 



Pierre, Rapid City & Northwestern 

Pierre & Ft. Pierre Bridge Ry. Co. (No 
data furnished) 



Wyoming & Northwestern . . 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy . 

Chicago Great Western 

Chicago Junction 



Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul — Eastern 

Lines 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul — Puget 

Sound Lines 

Bellingham & Northern 

Tacoma Eastern 

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, Chicago, 

Rock Island & Gulf ' 

Colorado & Southern 

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha. . . 
Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern 

(No data furnished) 

Denver & Rio Grande 

Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic. . . 

Mineral Range 



.El-Paso-&-Southwestern . --.-. ■= 

Fort Worth Belt 

Fort Worth & Denver City . 
Wichita Valley 



45 
No age limit 

40 

None hired 
None hired 



No age limit 

35 
35 
35 



No age limit 

35 
No age limit 



30 
*21 

35 

*27\ 
30/ 

*27\ 
30/ 



No age limit 

45 
45 
45 



/*27 
I 35 



*27 ) 

35 I 

' 8*27] 

. 35 I 



None hired 
None hired 



No age limit 

35 
35 
35 



No age limit 
35 
35 

30 

*21 

35 

/*27\ 

I 30 / 
f*27\ 
I 30/ 



None hired 
No age limit 

50 
No age limit 



45 

No age limit 

45 

45 

No age limit 

35 



45 
40 
40 

-45 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 



(IS 

No age limit 

50 
No age limit 



25 

24 

No age limit 

25 

1*35 \ 

I 45 / 

No age limit 

27 



35 
25 
25 

{%)■■ 

No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 



None hired 
No age limit 

50 
No age limit 



45 
40 

45 

45 

No age limit 

35 



/*271 

I 30/ 
No age limit 

50 
No age limit 



25 

24 
25 
25 

{"£ . 

No age limit 
27 



No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 



35 
25 
25 

{!)-■ 

No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 



161 



162 



APPENDIX G 



CONFERENCE COMMITTEE OF MANAGERS, WESTERN TERRITORY. CHICAGO. 

ENGINEERS' AND FIREMEN'S WAGE MOVEMENT. 1914. 

AGE LIMIT FOR EMPLOYMENT OF ENGINEERS AND FIREMEN. 



Age limit of employment. 



Engineers. 



Engineers. 



Great Northern 

Illinois Central 

Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 

International & Great Northern 

Kansas City, Clinton & Springfield (No data 

furnished) 

Kansas City Southern, Texarkana & Ft. 

Smith 

Kansas City Terminal 



45 

45 

45 

No age limit 



45 

45 

45 

No age limit 



No age limit 



Louisiana & Arkansas 

Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie. 

Missouri & North Arkansas (No data fur- 
nished) 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas of Texas 

Beaumont & Great Northern 

Texas Central 

Wichita Falls Line 



No age 1 
43 



No age li 
43 



No age limit 
43 



No age limit 
43 



Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf 

Missouri Pacific. St. Louis, Iron Mountain 

& Southern 

Northern Pacific 

Oregon- Washington R. R. & Navigation Co. 



Oregon Short Line 

St. Louis & San Francisco. 



New Orleans, Texas & Mexico, Orange & 
Northwestern, Beaumont, Sour Lake & 
Western 

St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico 

St. Louis, San Francisco & Texas 

Fort Worth & Rio Grande 

St. Louis Southwestern 

St. Louis Southwestern of Texas 



San Antonio & Aransas Pass. 



San Pedro. Los Angeles & Salt Lake 

Southern Pacific 

Sunset Central Lines. (Galveston, Harris- 
burg & SanAntonio, Texas & New Orleans. 
Morgan's Louisiana & Texas R. R. and 
Steamship Co., Louisiana Western, Hous- 
ton & Texas Central, Houston East & 
West Texas, Houston & Shreveport ... 



Spokane, Portland & Seattle 

Oregon Trunk 

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, 

St. Louis Merchants Bridge Terminal. . . 
The Wiggins Ferry Co. (comprising East St. 

Louis connecting Ry. St. Louis Transfer 

Ry) 

Texas & Pacific 

Denison & Pacific Suburban 

Weatherford, Mineral Wells & North- 
western 



Trinity & Brazos Valley 



Union Pacific 

Union Ry. — Memphis (No data furnished") 

Union Stock Yards of Omaha 

Wabash 

Western Pacific 



No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 

45 



35 
35 
No age limit 
30 
35 

30 

45 
35 
45 

HI) 

rs ) 



No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 



Not operating 
40 



40 

No age limit 

45 



No age limit 



45 
/*30 
I 35 

45 



35 
Not operating 



28 

No age limit 

35 



No age limit 



No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 

45 



No age limit 
45 
45 



No age limit 
35 
35 



45 
45 
45 

No age limit 

No age limit 



35 

35 

No age limit 



30 

45 

35 

45 

/*28 

I 35 

1*21 

27 



No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 
No age limit 

45 
i*30 \ 
\ 35 ! 

45 



28 
35 
i> 

No age limit 

No aire limit 

ra i 



No age 1 mit 
45 
45 



No age limit 
35 
35 



EXPLANATORY NOTE: 
This data was prepared from reports of individual railway?. 
*Denotes " Inexperienced." 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 163 

APPENDIX H. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN, AS INDICATED 
IN EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 

A vast majority of the railroads, except in the Southeast, where 
negroes are largely employed, demand that all locomotive firemen ac- 
quire a thorough technical knowledge of operating rules and locomotive 
practice. 

Some roads simply require locomotive firemen to acquire this knowl- 
edge by the time they are called upon to take examination for the 
promotion to position of engineer. Many roads, however, have 
instituted what is known as "progressive examination," with the result 
that a fireman must prepare himself to successfully answer these ques- 
tions at intervals during the first three years of his employment. 

These questions on operating rules are generally based upon the 
"Book of Rules," issued by each railroad company, but which are 
practically standard for all Railroads. 

Including the study required of the Book of Rules, the necessary 
preparation to successfully answer all questions on operating rules, and 
to answer the many hundreds of questions on mechanical matters, 
places the locomotive fireman among the most skilled of employees in 
any industry, before he is promoted to the position of engineer. 

For the information of the Federal Railway Wage Commission the 
examination questions for the Erie Railroad are herewith reproduced. 
These questions do not vary greatly from other roads and indicate the 
extent of technical learning and skill required of locomotive firemen, 
usually in the first three years of their service. 



QUESTIONS ON OPERATING RULES ISSUED NOVEMBER 1st, 1908, FOR 
THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES ENTERING THE SER- 
VICE AS FIREMEN AND TRAINMEN, ON ROAD OR IN YARDS. 

1 — How many years' experience have you had in railroad work, on what roads and 

in what capacities ? 
2 — Do you understand that to enter or remain in the service is an assurance ot 

willingness to obey the rules? 
3 — What is essential to the safety of passengers and employes and the protection 

of property? 
4 — Do you understand that in accepting employment, you assume its risks? 
5 — Have you been provided with a copy of the current book of operating rules and 

time table? 
6 — "What is the rule in regard to the use of intoxicants while on duty, or employes 

known to be addicted to their use at any time or to frequent saloons or places 

of low resort? 

VISIBLE SIGNALS 

7 — What does a red signal signify? 
What does a green signal signify? 
What does a purple signal signify? 
What does a yellow signal signify? 



164 APPENDIX H 

What does a combined green and white signal signify? 

What does a combined blue and red signal signify? 

When a fusee is found burning red on or near the track, how must it be 

observed? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal to stop? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal to proceed? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal to back? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal that the train has parted? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal to apply air brakes? 
What is the hand, flag and lamp signal to release air brakes? 
What is the meaning of any object waved violently by any one on or near the 

track? 
Where should those giving signals station themselves? 

NOTE — When oral examinations are conducted, examiners will demonstrate to candidates the 
proper way to give hand, flag and lamp signals. 

AUDIBLE SIGNALS 

8 — What does one short sound of the engine whistle indicate? 
Two long sounds? 
One long and three short sounds? 
Four long sounds? 
Five long sounds? 

Three long sounds when train is running? 
Two short sounds? 

Three short sounds when train is standing? 
Four short sounds? 
One long and two short sounds? 
Two long and two short sounds? 
One long sound? 

Two long and two short sounds? 
Four short sounds repeated? 
A succession of short sounds? 
Five short sounds? 
NOTE — Audible signals used in three or more track territory to be covered by additional ques- 
tions as may be necessary. 

WHAT ARE THE AIR WHISTLE SIGNALS FOR THE FOLLOWING: 

9 — When train is standing, start? 

When train is running, stop at once? 

When train is standing, back up? 

When train is running, stop at the next station? 

When train is standing, apply or release air brakes? 

When train is running, reduce speed? 

When train is standing, call in flagman? 

When train is running, increase speed? 

When train is running, approaching a meeting point? 

TRAIN SIGNALS. 

10 — What lights do yard engines display? 

What do green signals displayed on the front of an engine indicate? 

What do white signals displayed on the front of an engine indicate? 

What does a combined red and blue signal indicate? 

What is your duty when a combined red and blue signal is placed on the end 

of a car or engine and you want to place other cars on the track ahead 

of the signal or get cars out of the track? 
What is the meaning of a signal improperly displayed, or the absence of a 

signal where one is usually shown? 

AUTOMATIC SIGNALS. 

11 — On what side of the signal pole are signal arms that govern approaching 
trains? 

What indicates stop, by day and by night? 
What indicates caution, by day and by night? 
What indicates clear block, by day and by night? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 165 

RULES. 

12— What does a flagging signal equipment consist of? 

13— What signals must a flagman take with him when protecting his train by _day? 
14 — What signals must a flagman take with him when protecting his train by night? 
15 — When a train is stopped, or delayed, Under circumstances in which it may be 

overtaken by another train, how must it be protected? 
16 — What does the explosion of one torpedo indicate? 
17 — What does the explosion of two torpedoes indicate? 
18 — On which rail should torpedoes be placed? 
19 — When a flagman is recalled by the whistle of his engine, what is his duty, 

after reaching the required distance? 
20 — Should a flagman be recalled before reaching the required distance, what is 

his duty? 
21 — How should the front of a train be protected? 

22 — When a flagman goes out to protect his train, where is he forbidden to stop ? 
23 — What is the duty of a flagman when a train is to back out of a siding? 
24 — When is it forbidden to call in the flagman? 
25 — When it is necessary for a train on double track to cross over to the opposite 

track, how should it be protected by flagmen ? 
26 — What are the special instructions relative to the use of fusees ?"-"•" 
27 — Do you understand it is forbidden to go between moving cars or engines? 
28 — How far apart should cars or engines be separated before adjusting couplers 

or parts thereof, and should the cars be stopped before exposing yourself to 

danger ? 
29 — Is it required that switches be left set and locked for the main track after 

having been used? 
30— Do you understand that trainmen are required to exercise great care when 

handling switches to see that the split point of the. switch fits up properly 

against the stationary rail ? 
31 — At meeting or passing points what position must an employe attending the 

switch take after locking it for the main track? 
32 — Do you understand that employes are required to inform themselves respecting 

the location of all structures or obstructions along the line that will not clear 

them when on top or sides of cars or engines? 
33 — In all cases of doubt or uncertainty what are you required to do? 



QUESTIONS ON OPERATING RULES, ISSUED NOVEMBER 1st, 1908; AUTO- 
MATIC AND STRAIGHT AIR BRAKE RULES ISSUED JANUARY 1st, 1910, 
AND AUTOMATIC BLOCK SIGNAL AND INTERLOCKING RULES 
ISSUED MAY 15th, 1914, OF FIREMEN AND TRAINMEN, SK 
MONTHS AFTER EMPLOYMENT. 

GENERAL RULES. 

1 — Have you a copy of the Book of Rules of the Operating Department effective 
Nov. 1, 1908? 

2 — Have you a copy of the Book of Rules governing Automatic Block Signals, 
Interlocking and Telephone Operation, effective May 15, 1914, and Rules and 
Instructions for operating the Automatic and Straight Air Brake, Air Train 
Signal, Steam Heat and Car Lighting Systems, effective January 1, 1910? 

3— Have you read these rules and do you understand them ? 

4 — If in doubt as to the meaning of any rules or instructions, what are you re- 
quired to do? 

5— Do_ you understand that employes are required to render every assistance in 
their power in carrying out the rules and special instructions? 

6 — What are the restrictions relative to intoxicants and frequenting places where 
intoxicants are sold? 



166 APPENDIX H 

7 — Is the use of tobacco by employes restricted when on duty, and to what extent? 

8 — Are employes on duty in passenger service required to wear the prescribed 
badges and uniforms and be neat in appearance, orderly and avoid annoyance 
to patrons? 

9 — What are employes required to do in case of danger to Company's property? 
10 — Do you understand that you are required to have a copy of the current time- 
table with you when on duty? 

DEFINITIONS. 

11— What is a train? 

What is a regular train? 

What is a section of a regular train? 

What is an extra train? 

What is a superior train? 

What is a train of superior right? 

What is a train of superior class? 

What is a train of superior direction? 

What is a time-table and what does it contain? 

What is a schedule? 

Do you understand that a division is that portion of a railroad assigned to 
the supervision of a superintendent? 

Do you understand that a district is a part of a division so designated on the 
time-table? 

What is a main track? 

What is a single track? 

What is a double track? 

What is meant by the current of traffic? 

Do you understand that a station is a place designated on the time-table by 
name at which a train may stop for traffic, or to enter or leave the main 
track; or from which fixed signals are operated? 

What is a siding? 

What is a fixed signal? 

Do you understand that the definition of a "Fixed Signal" covers such signals 
as slow boards, stop boards, yard limits, switch, train order, block, inter- 
locking, semaphore, disc, ball or other means for indicating stop, caution 
or proceed? 

What is a yard? 

What is a yard engine? 

Do you understand that a pilot is a person assigned to a train for any reason, 
or when the engineman or conductor, or both, are not fully acquainted 
with the physical characteristics or running rules of the road, or portion 
of the road, over which the train is to be moved? 

Under whose jurisdiction and what rules and instructions are you subject to 
when performing service on a foreign road, or on more than one division, 
whether detouring trains or otherwise? 

STANDARD TIME. 

12 — How often and at what hour is standard time transmitted to all points? 

Where are the standard clocks on this division located? 

How are standard clocks distinguished? 

With what clocks only must trainmen and enginemen compare time? 

Have you a standard watch? 

Do you understand that watches must be examined and certified to by this 
Company's authorized watch examiner before being used? 

How often must standard watches be inspected by a watch examiner for com- 
parison with standard time? 

How often must standard watches be examined by an authorized watch ex- 
aminer and certificate renewed? 

When your duties prevent you from having access to standard clocks, how 
are you to procure standard time? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 167 

TIME-TABLES. 

13 — What is the number of the current time-table? 

14 — How does each new time-table affect. the old time-table? 

15 — When do time-table schedules take effect? 

16 — From what stations do schedules date? 

17 — Where one time is given on time-table, what does it indicate? 

18 — Where two times are given, what do they indicate? 

19 — What do figures in heavy or full-faced type indicate on time-tables? 

20 — When both arriving and leaving time are in heavy or full-faced type, what 

does it indicate? 
21 — How are the days upon which trains are to be run indicated on the time-table? 
22 — At what points are train register books located on this division? 
23 — At what points are special order books located on this division? 
24 — Explain the meaning of the following letters and signs : 
V 

"f" 

•<T 

<#" 

"Dp." 
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25 — When returning after an absence from duty, what must you ascertain before 
resuming duty? 

SIGNAL RULES. 

26 — Do you understand that employes whose duties may require them to give 

signals are required to provide themselves with the proper appliances, keep 

them in good order and ready for immediate use? 
27 — Do you understand that flags of the prescribed color by day, and lamps of the 

prescribed color by night, must be used to give signals ? 
28 — Where should you station yourself when giving signals? 
29 — If in doubt as to whether signals are intended for you or not, what would 

you do ? 
30 — When are night signals displayed? 
31 — When weather or other conditions obscure day signals, what is required? 



VISIBLE SIGNALS. 
Color Signals. 



: 

Red. 

Purple. 

Green. 

Yellow. 

Combined Green and White. 

Combined Blue and Red. 
33 — A yellow flag by day, and in addition a yellow light by night, placed beside the 

track on the engineman's side, indicates what? 
34 — A green flag "by day, and in addition a green light by night, placed beside the 

track on the engineman's side, indicates what? 
35 — What is required when a train is signaled by a fusee burning red on or near 

the track? 
36 — What is the hand, flag and lamp signals for the following: 

To stop. 

To proceed. 

To back. 

Train has parted. 

Apply air brakes. 

Release air brakes. 

NOTE — When oral examinations are conducted, examiners will demonstrate to candidates the 

proper way to give hand, flag and lamp signals. 
37 — What is the meaning of any object waved violently by any one on or near 
the track? 



168 APPENDIX II 

AUDIBLE SIGNALS. 
Engine Whistle Signals. 

38 — What do the following whistle signals indicate : 
One short. 
Two long. 

One long and three short. 
Four long. 
Five long. 
Three long. 
Two short. 
Three short. 
Four short. 

One long and two short. 
Two long and two short. 
One long. 

Two long and two short repeated. 
Four short repeated. 
Five short. 

NOTE — Audible signals used in three or more main track territory to be covered by additional 
questions as may be necessary. 

39 — Should an engineman fail to sound the required whistle signal approaching a 
station where time-table restrictions are to be observed or a train order is to 
be executed, what must the trainman do? 

AIR WHISTLE COMMUNICATING SIGNALS 

40 — What signals should be given to indicate : 
When train is standing, start. 
When train is running, stop at once. 
When train is standing, back the train. 
When train is running, stop at next station. 
When train is standing, apply or release air brakes. 
When train is running, reduce speed. 
When train is standing, call in flagman. 
When train in running, increase speed. 
When train is running approaching a meeting point. 

TRAIN SIGNALS. 

41 — Where and when must head-light be displayed? 

42 — When must head-light be concealed? 

43 — When there are more trains at a meeting point than the siding will hold, 

should the head-light on the leading engine remain displayed? 
44— When there are more trains at a meeting point than the siding will hold, 

should the markers be turned at night? 
45 — What does a head-light mean when seen by an approaching train on single 

track, and what must the approaching train do? 
46 — Does uncovered head-light or unchanged markers relieve trainmen from pro- 
tecting their trains? 
47 — When should markers be removed after arrival of train at terminal? 
48 — What lights should yard engines display? 

49 — What ligts should road engines display when moving in yards without trains? 
50 — What signal is it necessary to receive from rear end of a freight train before 

passing a station or siding at which it is not required to stop, or before ascent 

or descent of heavy grades? 
51 — What signals are required on rear of every train as markers by day and by 

night? 
52 — How are signals at night displayed when train is in to clear on siding, to be 

passed by another train? 
53 — How must markers on rear of a train be changed at night when running 

against the current of traffic? 
54 — What is the duty of enginemen when displaying green signals for a following 

section? 
55 — What response should be given? 
56 — Should a train on single track or at end of double track fail to acknowledge 

signals displayed for sections of a train, what would you do? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 169 

57 — Are. enginemen and .trainmen excused from the responsibility of not observing 

signals 7 displayed foir. sections: of a train whether their attention is called to 

them or not? . 

58 — What is your duty when a combined blue and red signal is displayed at one or 

both ends of an engine, car or train ? 
59— Who has authority to display and remove a combined blue and red signal? 
60 — Where should torpedoes be placed? 
61— Where is it forbidden to place torpedoes? 
62 — What does the explosion of one torpedo indicate? 
63— What does the explosion of two torpedoes indicate? 
64— What colored signals are displayed by sections of a train ? 
65 — What sections of a train should display these signals? 
66 — What colored signals are displayed by extra trains? 
67 — When two or more engines are coupled, should all engines display the signals, 

and which engine should do the braking and give the whistle signals and 

acknowledgments ? 
68 — Must the engineman on all the engines know that the proper whistle signals 

and acknowledgments are given? 
69 — If only one light or one flag is displayed as a classification signal, what would 

it indicate? 
70— When cars are- pushed by an engine (except when switching or making up 

trains in yards), what signal must be displayed on front of leading" car by night? 
71 — How: must each car in a passenger train be connected with the engine? 
72 — How must a signal imperfectly displayed, or the absence of ; a signal at a 

place where a signal. is usually shown, be regarded? 
73- — -How must a white signal, at a place where a colored signal is required, be 

regarded ? 
74 — What signal is used to stop a train at a flag station indicated on its schedule? 
75 — When necessary to stop a train at a point that is not a flag station on its 

schedule, what signal must be used ? 
76— Are trainmen and firemen, as well as enginemen and conductors, required to 

observe all signals ? 
77 — When a signal, except a fixed signal, is given to stop a train, how must it be 

acknowledged? 
78 — Do you understand that unnecessary noise must be avoided while standing, 

running or switching in the vicinity of a passenger train? 

SUPERIORITY OF TRAINS. 

79— Explain the superiority of trains of different classes. 

80 — Extra trains are of what class compared with regular trains? 

MOVEMENT OF TRAINS 

81 — How long are time-table schedules in effect unless fulfilled? 

82 — When do regular trains lose both right and schedule, and how can they be 

moved thereafter? 
83 — What must be ascertained before a train leaves its initial station on any 

■ division or district, or a junction, or passes from double to single track? 
84 — How will this information be obtained? 
85— Should a train start without a proper sigal? 
86 — -When a train backs, out of a siding, must it be protected? 
87 — What is required of inferior trains with respect to superior trains? 
88 — Failing to clear the main track by the time required by rule, what must be 

done ? 
89 — At meeting points between trains of the same class, at what time is the inferior 

train required to clear the main track ? 
90— -At meeting points between trains of different classes., at what time is the 

inferior train required to clear the main track? 
91 — At meeting points between extra trains, which train should take the siding? 
92-^-1 f necessary to run by a switch to back in, what precaution must be taken? 
93— On approaching a station at which a train should stop or take the siding to 

meet or be passed by another train, what signals must be given the engineman 
: dh~a freight train and on a passenger train, and how should the engineman 

acknowledge these signals ? 
94 — What must be done if engineman fails to answer signal? 



170 APPENDIX II 

95— May a train arrive at a station in advance of its schedule arriving time? 

96— May a train leave a station in advance of its schedule leaving time. 

97— How are main tracks to be used within yard limits? 

98— At what points are yard limits located on this division? 

99— How should all trains, except first-class trains, approach and pass through 

yard limits, regular water stations and coaling stations? 
100— How must trains approach the end of double track, junctions, railroad cross- 
ings at grade and drawbridges? 
101— -What is required of both engineman and fireman approaching block signals, 

stations, railroad crossings, drawbridges and junctions? 
102— When a train is stopped, or delayed, under circumstances in which it may be 

overtaken by another train, what is the duty of the flagman and conductor? 
103— When recalled, what is the flagman's duty, after reaching the required 

distance? 
104— Should a flagman be recalled before reaching the required distance, what 

is his duty? 
105— How should the front of a train be protected? 
106— Should a train for any cause be required to gradually reduce its speed 

between stations, or at an unusual point, what is the duty of the engineman? 
j 07— In case the engineman failed to sound the flag signal, what is the duty of 

the conductor and flagman? 
108— What is required of the conductor and engineman when the flagman is 

recalled? 
109— When a flagman is sent out to signal an approaching train, where is he 

forbidden to stop? 
110 — What is the duty of the flagman when a train is to back out of a siding? 
Ill — When is it forbidden to call in the flagman? 

112 — When practicable to avoid it, where is it forbidden to allow a train to stand? 
113 — What is the duty of the engineman who picks up a flagman of a delayed 

train? 
114 — Does this relieve the conductor and flagman of the forward train from 

protecting their train? 
115 — What are the special instructions relative to the use of fusees? 
116— What does a flagging signal equipment consist of? 

117 — What signals must a flagman take with him when protecting his train by day? 
118 — What signals must a flagman take with him when protecting his train by 

night ? 
119 — When it is necessary for a train on a double track to cross over to the 

opposite track, how should it be protected? 
120 — How should engines and trains run when entering or moving through sid- 
ings and yard tracks? 
121 — Before moving cars on public or private tracks, at freight or transfer houses 

and repair tracks, what precaution must first be taken? 
122 — Is it forbidden to kick or drop cars against other cars or engines on repair 

tracks ? 
123 — When cars are pushed by an engine (except when switching and making up 

trains in yards), what precautions must be taken? 
124 — What is the proper position of switches when not in use? 
125 — May a switch be left open for a following train? 
126 — At meeting or passing points, what is required of the employe attending the 

switch after locking it for main track? 
127 — When cars are placed on sidings, what precaution must be taken? 
128 — What is required when switching over highways which are not protected 

by flagman or gates? 
129 — What is required in case of doubt or uncertainty? 

130 — When and by whom must special order books and bulletin boards be examined? 
131— When necessary to take coal or water, with a freight train of over 20 cars, 

what is required? 
132 — When an engine is detached from its train at night and goes for water, or 

under similar circumstances, what should be done to avoid possible collision 

with the train when engine returns? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 171 

133 — What employes are required to familiarize themselves with the location of 
derails, and what must first be determined before proceeding? 

134 — Is it required that derails be kept set and locked for derailment when not in 
use, irrespective of whether cars are on the siding or not? 

MANUAL BLOCK SIGNALS. 

135 — 

What is a positive block system? 

What is a permissive block system? 

What is a home block signal? 

Do you understand that the position of the arm displayed to the right of the signal 

mast, and the color of the light by night, as seen from an approaching train, 

give the indication? 
How is "stop" indicated by day and by night? 
How is "caution" indicated by day and by night? 
How is "clear" indicated by day and by night? 

AUTOMATIC BLOCK SIGNAL, INTERLOCKING AND TELEPHONE 

SYSTEM. 

136 — What is a block signal? 

137 — What is a caution signal? 

138 — What is a telephone train order signal? 

139 — What is a grade signal? 

140 — What part of this division is equipped with automatic block signals? 

141 — Are all main track switches and derails connected with the automatic signal 

system, and how do they affect the signals? 
142 — Unless otherwise provided, do automatic block signals affect the rights of 

trains under time-table rules, or train rules, or dispense with the use or the 

observance of other signals whenever and wherever they may be required? 
143 — Do automatic block signals apply to trains running against the current of 

traffic? 
144 — Do block signals relieve enginemen and trainmen from the duty and responsi- 
bility of prompt and proper flagging? 
145 — If a train passes beyond the limits of a block, under what circumstances may 

it back into the block? 
146 — Do block signals supersede observance of rules 111 and 112 of the Operating 

Department ? 
147 — What is required before a train is backed or pulled out of a siding or crossed 

over to a main track against the current of traffic? 
148 — Under what circumstances would you accept hand signals at interlocking 

plants ? 
149 — Does a dwarf signal set at proceed, indicate a clear track or proceed with 

caution ? 
150 — How would you proceed on a caution signal? 

AIR BRAKE EXAMINATION. 

151 — Do you understand that an air brake is a brake operated by compressed air? 
How is the compressed air supplied? 
Should the brake and signal pipe be blown out by opening the angle cock and 

stop cock at rear end of tender and front end of engine, and when 

should this be done? 
Should the train brakes always be tested before leaving a terminal? 
What is the least pressure that the brakes should be tested with on freight 
J trains ? 
If you are on a passenger train, would you make a running test of the brakes 

after starting out from a terminal, or when there has been any change 

in the make-up of your train or approaching dangerous places? 
If a brake is found to. stick on a car, how should it be released? 
How long should the release valve or release cock be open? 
If the release valve is held open after the exhaust is heard at the triple valve, 

what would happen? 
Namethe important parts of the automatic air brake, applied to a car. 
Explain the passage of air from the time it enters the brake pipe until it is 

exhausted to the atmosphere? 



172 APPENDIX II 

Whal arc the duties of the triple valve? 

Does each car in the train carry its own braking power? 

Where is the braking power carried? 

How is the automatic brake applied? 

How is the automatic brake released? 

Why is excess pressure carried? 

When the train is fully charged, is the pressure in the auxiliary reservoirs and 

brake pipe the same? 
What is the maximum pressure to be carried in the brake pipe and auxiliary 

reservoirs in low speed passenger and freight service? 
What is the maximum pressure to be carried in the brake pipe and auxiliary 

reservoirs in high speed passenger service? 
What pressure should be carried in the air signal line? 
What pressure is carried for the straight air or independent brake valve? 
What is a pressure retaining valve for? 

How much pressure does the retaining valve hold in the brake cylinder? 
Where are pressure retaining valves used? 
When part of the retaining valves on a train are to be used, what part of the 

train should they be used on? 
Why should this be done? 
When two or more engines are coupled to a train, which engineman should 

operate the brakes ? 
What is a high speed reducing valve? 
If you are running a high speed passenger train, and you pick up a car that is 

not equipped with the high speed reducing valve, what should be done? 
If you are running a freight train and you pick up a high speed passenger 

car, what changes must be made, if any? 
If a brake pipe is broken under a passenger car, how could the brakes be 

operated on the other cars in the train without switching the disabled 

car to the rear end of train? 
When the signal line has been used for the brake pipe, can the conductor 

signal the engineman with the air signal, and if so, from what part of 

the train can it be operated? 
Is it necessary to make a test of the brakes after the train has parted and 

has again been coupled? 
When is it permissible to cut out brakes on cars? 
What effect has brake pipe leakage on the operation of the brakes? 
Are small leaks sufficient cause for cutting out cars? 
How should the brakes be applied when making a standing test? 
What is the proper piston travel for passenger or freight cars? 
What is the proper piston travel for tenders? 
How should air hose be parted? 
Do you understand that the rear car in a passenger train must always have 

the air brake working and never cut out? 



FIRST YEAR'S SERIES OF QUESTIONS FOR MECHANICAL EXAMINATION 
OF FIREMEN ON FUEL ECONOMY. 

1 — What is your full name? 

2 — What is your age, last birthday ? 

3 — What is your past Railroad experience? Give below the name of road or roads 

on which employed, together with location and length of service. 
4 — When did you enter the service of this Company, and in what capacity have 

you since been employed? 
5 — Do you consider it essential to your success in business to abstain from the 

use of intoxicating liquors? Do you consider it to your interest to work to 

the best of your ability for the interest of your employer, and be economical 

in the use of fuel and supplies? 
6 — What are the fireman's duties on arrival at engine house previous to going 

out on a locomotive? 
7 — Explain the principle of the steam gauge, both as to construction and operation. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 173 

8 — What pressure is indicated by the steam gauge? What is meant by atmos- 
pheric pressure ? 
9 — What is the source of power in a steam locomotive? 
10 — About what quantity of water should be evaporated in a locomotive boiler to 

the pound of coal? 
11 — What is steam and how is it generated? 
12 — At what temperature does water boil? 
13 — What is combustion? 

14 — What are the principal component parts of bituminous coal? 
IS — Is air necessary for combustion? 
16 — Why is it necessary to provide for combustion a supply of air through the 

fuel in the firebox? 
17 — How can you prove that it is necessary to supply air to the fire box for 'com- 
bustion ? 
18 — What is the effect upon combustion if too little air be supplied through the 

fire? If too much air is supplied? 
19 — How is draft created through the fire? 
20 — In what condition, therefore, should the fire be, in order that the best results 

may be obtained from the combustion of coal? 
21 — Describe a blower and its use and abuse. 
22 — What effect is produced by opening the fire door when the engine is being 

worked ? 
23 — What is the effect of putting too many scoops of coal on a bright fire? Is 

this a waste of fuel? 
24 — What effect has the fire upon a scoopful of coal when it is placed in the fire 

box? 
25 — In what condition should the fire be to consume these gases? 
26 — How can the fire be maintained in this condition? 
27 — What is black smoke? Is it combustible? 
28 — Can the firing be done more intelligently if the water level is observed closely? 

Why? 
29 — What advantage is it to the fireman to know the grades of the road and the 

location of the stations? 
30 — How should the fire and water be managed in starting from a terminal or 

other station? 
31 — What is the purpose of a safety valve on a locomotive boiler? Why is more 

than one used? 
32 — What usually is the reason for steam being wasted from the safety valve? 
33 — What is the estimated waste of coal for each minute the safety valve is open? 
34 — What should be done to prevent waste of steam through the safety valve? 
35 — What should be the condition of fire on arriving at a station where a stop is 

to be made? 
36 — How should you build up the fire when at stations in order to avoid black 

smoke ? 
37 — What should be the condition of the fire when passing over the summit of a 

long grade? 
38— Is it advisable to keep the waiter at the proper level and how should it be 

supplied? 
39 — Why is it that if there is a thin fire with a hole in it, the steam pressure will 

fall at once? 
40 — What would be the result of starting a heavy train with too thin a fire on the 

grates ? 
41 — Where should the coal, as a rule, be placed in the fire box? 
42 — Is rapid firing advisable? 

43 — When and for what purpose is the use of rake on the fire bed allowable? 
44 — Within what limits may steam pressure be allowed to vary economically, and 

why?: 
45 — Is it advisable to raise steam pressure rapidly? 
46— Has -improper firing any tendency to cause tubes to leak? How? 
47 — What : would- .you consider abuse of a boiler? 

48 — How would you take care of a boiler with leaky tubes or fire box ? 
49— -Why is it very important that coal should be broken so that it will not be 

-larger than the ordinary sized apple, before being put into the fire box? 
50 — When and why should you wet the coal in the tender? 



174 APPENDIX H 

51— Should coal be allowed to lie on the deck and fall out of the gangways? 

52— Do you understand that the coal used on locomotives is property, and repre- 
sents money invested by the Company? 

53— What are the advantages of a large grate surface? 

54 — Why are the grates made to shake, and when should they be shaken? 

55 — Why should grates not be shaken too frequently? 

56 — Is it a fireman's duty not to allow the ash pan to become too full? 

57 — Is it objectionable to fill the tanks too full of coal, or spill water at stand pipes 
or water tanks? Why? 

58 — What are the duties of a fireman on arrival at the terminal? 

59 — Is the engineman responsible for the fireman's conduct while on duty, and the 
manner in which the fireman's duties are performed? 

AIR-BRAKE QUESTIONS 

1 — What is an air-brake? 

2 — How is the air compressed for use in the air-brake system? 

3— What are the essential parts of the air-brake as applied to a locomotive? 

4 — How many kinds of triple valves are there in use? 

5 — What is the main reservoir used for and where is it located? 

6 — What is the usual standard train pipe pressure? 

7 — What pressure is usually carried in the main reservoirs? 

8— Why is it important that all air-brake apparatus should be kept tight and free 
from leaks ? 

9 — Where does the air come from that operates the sand blower, bell ringer, air 

whistle signal, water scoop or other devices? 
10 — How should an air-pump be started? 
11 — How is the automatic brake applied and released? 
12 — (A) How many positions are there of the brake valve? 
(B) What are they? 



SECOND YEAR'S QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO FIRING LOCOMOTIVES. 

1 — What constitutes an efficient fireman? 

2 — Is knowledge of science a benefit to a fireman? 

3 — What is the most important mental quality a fireman should possess? 

4 — What kind of fire should be made up before starting on a trip? 

5 — What are the principal things a fireman is required to do in getting the engine 

ready for a trip? 
6 — What is the best condition in which to maintain a fire upon the grates? 

(a) What is cross-firing? 
7 — What is the effect of loading one portion of the grates with a thick bed of fuel? 

(a) What are the advantages of carrying a level fire? 
8 — W'hat are the objections to leaving thick spots on the fire? 

(a) Why is it better to have the fire thicker at the sides than in the middle 
of the fire box? 
9 — Does a fireman perform his whole duty when he "keeps her hot"? 
10 — Do you consider smokeless firing to be practicable? Have you tried to fire so 

that smoke would not be made? 
11 — Does the condition of the grates influence free steaming? What effect upon 
the fire has broken fingers of the grates? 

(a) What effect do deflector-plate and smoke-box appliances exert upon the 
steaming of an engine? 
12 — What effect on coal consumption has the practice of smokeless firing? 
13 — What makes regulating of air admission to the fire important? 
14 — In what manner should the shaking of grates be regulated? What do you 

consider good practice in the shaking of grates? 
15 — What have you learned from the preceding questions with regard to economy? 
16 — What extra attention is necessary when approaching stopping points? 
17 — What effect upon the boiler has steady firing? 

18 — Can the system of firing described always prove successful? What may pre- 
vent the method from working well? What kind of feeling does efficient firing 
promote? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 175 

19 — What is the origin of all mechanical power? 

20 — What is the most valuable substance of fuel? What are the principal con- 
stituents of coal? About how much water is usually evaporated to the pound 

of coal burned in a locomotive fire box? 
21 — What is a fair per cent, average of carbon found in bituminous coal? About 

how many heat units result from one pound of good bituminous coal being 

burned under the most favorable circumstances? 
22 — What is combustion? Is there any form of combustion besides burning? 
23 — What do you know about different fuels ? What is the principal element in all 

fuels ? 
24 — How many pounds of coal per mile does the engine you fire burn when hauling 

an ordinary train? How much coal must at that rate be burned per hour on 

each foot of grate area? 
25 — If coal cost $2.00 per ton, and a fireman saved 1 ton each day for 30 days, 

what would be his total savings for month? For year? 
26 — Is it possible to pass too much air into a fire box? What are the principal 

objections to an excessive supply of air? 
27 — Which is worse from an economical standpoint, too much air or too- little? 
28 — About what is the temperature of a bright fire? 
29 — What is meant by the expression — the igniting temperature? What happens 

when any part of a fire box falls below the igniting temperature? 
30 — What particular difference exists between the burning of bituminous and of 

anthracite coal? How is slow burning anthracite made to burn as fast as 

soft coal? 
31 — What happens with the fuel when a very thick fire is carried? 
32 — What effect on the fire has the use of small nozzles? 
33 — Why is frequent firing preferable to loading up firing? 
34 — Describe the best method of firing. 

35 — How is the draft that forces air 'through a fire produced? What is a vacuum? 
36 — What are the draft appliances of a locomotive? What is the purpose of a 

diaphragm ? 
37 — Who is responsible for the operating of a locomotive? What are the employ- 
ment relations between engineer and fireman? 
38 — What may be the profit and loss difference in the amount of coal consumed 

to the Erie Railroad between the performance of a skillful and an inefficient 

engine crew? 
39 — If there is 1500 engine crews employed on the Erie Railroad and each one saves 

a ton of coal each day, what will be the total savings for a month, coal at 

$2.00 per ton, what for a year? 
40 — What important duties must an egineer perform besides running the engine? 
41 — What are common sources of waste in the operation of a locomotive? Who 

is in the best position to stop wasteful practices? 
42— Why should a fireman strive to prevent the formation of black smoke? 
43 — With the modern locomotives, is the single scoop method of firing economical 

and desirable? 
44 — Does the practice of light and level cross firing, and close attention to keep- 
ing steam from escaping at the safety valves, lessen the fireman's labors and 

also promote economy in the use of fuel? Will above practice eliminate to a 

great extent the use of the rake? 

AIR-BRAKE QUESTIONS. 

1 — What is meant by brake cylinder piston travel? 

2 — What should the driver brake piston travel be? The tender brake? 

3 — Is it important that the piston travel be maintained on each at measurements 

given ? Why ? 
4 — What is meant by service application of brakes? 
5 — What is meant by an emergency application of brakes? 
6 — When only should emergency be used? What are objections to its use at 

other times? 
7 — When is the brake supposed to be fully applied? 
8 — How much of service reduction in brake pipe pressure is required to bring 

this about? 
9 — Is it necessary to fully apply the brakes in all cases of stopping or slowing 

down ? 



176 APPENDIX H 

10— Does the wasting of air by unnecessary applications, either service <>r 
emergency or unnecessarily heavy reductions increase the fuel consumption of 
the locomotive? 

11 — Does leaky brake pipe and air connections which keep the pump working con- 
tinuously afiect the fuel consumption? 

12 — What is the straight air brake for? 



FINAL QUESTIONS ON OPERATING RULES ISSUED NOVEMBER 1st, 1908; 
AUTOMATIC AND STRAIGHT AIR BRAKE RULES ISSUED JANUARY 1st, 
1910; AND AUTOMATIC BLOCK SIGNAL AND INTERLOCKING 
RULES ISSUED MAY 15th, 1914, OF FIREMEN TO BE 
PROMOTED TO ENGINEMEN AND TRAIN- 
MEN TO BE PROMOTED TO 
CONDUCTORS. 

GENERAL RULES. 

1 — Have you a copy of the Book of Rules of the Operating Department effective 

Nov. 1, 1908? 
2 — Have you a copy of the Book of Rules governing Automatic Block Signals, 

Interlocking and Telephone operation, effective May 15, 1914, and Rules and 

Instructions for operating the Automatic and Straight Air Brake, Air Train 

Signal, Steam Heat and Car Lighting Systems, effective January 1, 1910? 
3 — Have you read these rules and do you understand them ? 
4 — Do you understand you are required to have a copy of the current time-table 

with you when on duty? 
5 — If in doubt as to the meaning of any rules or instructions, what are you re- 
quired to do? 
6 — Do you understand that employes are required to render every assistance in 

their power in carrying out the rules and special instructions? 
7 — What is required when you have knowledge that the rules or instructions have 

been violated? 
8 — What are the restrictions relative to intoxicants and frequenting places where 

intoxicants are sold? 
9 — Do you understand that the use of tobacco by employes when on duty in or 

about passenger stations or passenger cars is prohibited? 
10 — Are employes on duty in passenger service required to wear the prescribed 

badges and uniforms and be neat in appearance, orderly and avoid annoyance 

to patrons? 
11 — Do you understand that employes and others authorized to transact business 

at stations or on trains are required to be orderly and avoid annoyance to 

passengers ? 
12 — What are employes required to do in case of danger to Companys property? 

13— DEFINITIONS. 
What is a train ? 
What is a regular train? 
What is a section of a train? 
What is an extra train ? 
What is a superior train ? 
What is a train of superior right? 
What is a train of superior class? 
What is a train of superior direction ? 
What is a time-table and what does it contain ? 
What is a schedule? 

Do you understand that a division is that portion of a railway assigned to the 
supervision of a superintendent? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 177 

What is a main track? 

What is a single track? 

What is a double track? 

Do you understand that when three (or more) main tracks are in use that the 
current of traffic may be in either specified direction upon any of them? 

What is meant by the current of traffic? 

Do you understand that a station is a place designated on the time-table by 
name at which a train may stop for traffic, or to enter or leave the main 
track; or from which fixed signals are operated? 

What is a siding? 

What is a fixed signal ? 

Do you understand that the definition of a "Fixed Signal" covers such signals 
as slow boards, stop boards, yard limits, switch, train order, block, inter- 
locking, semaphore, disc, ball or other means of indicating stop, caution or 
proceed? 

What is a yard? 

What is a yard engine? 

Do you understand that a pilot is an employe assigned to a train when the en- 
gineman or conductor, or both, are not fully acquainted with the physical 
characteristics, or running rules of the railway, or portion of the 
railway, over which the train is to be moved ? • 

Under whose jurisdiction and what rules and instructions are you subject to 
when performing service on a foreign railway or on more than one divi- 
sion whether detouring trains or otherwise? 

14— STANDARD TIME. 

How often and at what hour is standard time transmitted to all points? 

Where are the standard clocks on this division located? 

H.ow are standard clocks distinguished? 

With what clocks only must trainmen and enginemen compare time? 

Have you a standard watch? 

Do you understand that watches must be examined and certified to by this 

Company's authorized watch examiner before being used? 
How often must standard watches be inspected by a watch examiner for 

comparison with standard time? 
How often must standard watches be examined by an authorized watch 

examiner and certificate renewed? 
When must you compare time with a standard clock and what is your duty 

after comparing time? 
When your duties prevent you from having access to standard clocks, 

how are you to procure standard time? 
With whom are you required to compare time before commencing each 

trip? 

TIME TABLES. 

15 — What is the number of the current time-table? 

16 — How does each new time-table affect the old time-table? 

17 — When do time-table schedules take effect? 

18 — How shall all regular trains on the road, running according to the pre- 
ceding time-table, be governed? 

19 — If the schedule for and the number of a train be the same on the new 
time-table as on the old time-table, how shall the train proceed? 

20 — If a train, by reason of being late on the old time-table or by reason of 
being scheduled earlier on the new time-table than on the old time-table, 
has not reached a point at which, by the new time-table, it should be at 
the time the new time-table takes effect, how shall it proceed? 

21 — If a train be scheduled later on the new time-table than on the old time- 
table, how shall it proceed? 

22— Can a train of the new time-table which has not the same number on the 
preceding time-table run on any division until it is due to start from its 
.. initial station, on that division, after the time-table takes effect? 

23 — From what station do schedules date? _.;. v 

24— How are the days upon which trains are to be run indicated on the time- 
table? 



178 APPENDIX H 

25 — For example, a train is scheduled to run "daily, except Monday," and by 
the time-table it starts Sunday, before midnight, and completes its trip 
after midnight; may it proceed after midnight Sunday? 

26 — If a train is scheduled to run "daily, except Sunday," and by the time-table 
completes its trip on Saturday, but, by reason of being late, cannot reach 
its terminal until after midnight Saturday, may it complete its trip? 

27 — How many schedules of the same number and day can be used? 

28 — How many times may be shown for a train at any station? 

29 — Where one time is given, what does it indicate? 

30 — Where two times are given, what do they indicate? 

31 — What do figures in heavy or full-faced type indicate? 

32 — When trains are to be met or passed at a siding extending between two 
adjoining stations, how is attention called to it? 

33 — When there are one or more trains to meet or pass a train between two 
times, or more than one train to meet a train at any station, how is atten- 
tion called to it? 

34 — When both arriving and leaving time are in heavy or full-faced type, what 
does it indicate? 

35 — Unless otherwise indicated, where does the time at a station apply? 

36 — Where there is no station where does the time apply? 

37 — At a siding where no traffic is received or forwarded, where does the time 
apply? 

38 — Where does the time apply where there is no siding? 

39 — When is heavy or full-faced type used at ends of double track, at junc- 
tions and at terminal stations? 

40 — Explain the meaning of the following letters and signs: 
"s" 
"f" 

T 

"Dp" 
"Ar" 
"D" 
"N" 

4l — At what points are train register books located on this division? 
42 — At what points are special order books located on this division? 
43 — When returning after an absence from duty, what must trainmen and en- 
ginemen ascertain before resuming duty? 

SIGNAL RULES. 

44 — Do you understand that employes whose duties may require them to give 

signals are required to provide themselves with the proper appliances, keep 

them in good order and ready for immediate use? 
45 — Where should employes station themselves when giving signals? 
46 — Do you understand that flags of the prescribed color by day, and lamps of 

the prescribed color by night must be used to give signals? 
47 — If in doubt as to whether signals are intended for you or not, what would 

you do? 
48 — When are night signals displayed? 

49 — When weather or other conditions obscure day signals, what is required?' 
50— VISIBLE SIGNALS. 

COLOR SIGNALS. 

What do the following colors indicate? 

Red. 

Purple. 

Green. 

Yellow. 

Combined Green and White. 

Combined Blue and Red. 
51 — A yellow flag by day, and in addition a yellow light by night, placed be- 
side the track on the engineman's side, indicates what? 
52 — A green flag by day, and in addition a green light by night, placed beside 

the track on the engineman's side, indicates what? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 179 

53 — What is required of enginemen when signaled by a fusee burning red on 

or near the track? 
54 — What is the hand, flag and lamp signal for the following: 

To stop. : 

To proceed. 

To back. 

Train has parted. 

Apply air brakes. 

Release air brakes. • 

55 — What is the meaning of any object waved violently by anyone on or near 

the track? 
56— AUDIBLE SIGNALS. 

ENGINE WHISTLE SIGNALS. 

What do the following whistle signals indicate? 
One short. 
Two long. 

One long and three short. 
Four long. 
Five long. 
Three long. 
Two short. 
Three short. 
Four short. 

One long and two short. 
Two long and two short. 
One long. 

Two long and two short repeated. 
Four short repeated. 
Five short. 

57 — 'Should an engineman fail to sound the required whistle signal approaching 
a station where time-table restrictions are to be observed, or a train order 
is to be executed, what must the trainmen do? 

58— COMMUNICATING SIGNALS. 

What signals should be given to indicate? 

When train is standing, start. 

When train is running, stop at once. 

When train is standing, back the train. 

When train is running, stop at next station. 

When train is standing, apply or release air brakes. 

When train is running, reduce speed. 

When train is standing, call in flagman. 

When train is running, increase speed. 

When train is running, approaching a meeting point? 

TRAIN SIGNALS. 

59 — Where and when must head light be displayed? 

60 — When must head-light be concealed? 

61 — When there are more trains at a meeting point than the siding will hold, 

should the head-light on the leading engine remain displayed? 
62 — When there are more trains at a meeting point than the siding will hold, 

should the markers be turned at night? 
63 — What does a head-light mean when seen by an approaching train on sin- 
gle track, and what must the approaching train do? 
64 — Does uncovered head-lights or unchanged markers relieve trainmen from 

protecting their trains? 
65 — When should markers be removed, after arrival of train at terminal? 
66 — What lights should yard engines display? 
67 — What lights should road engines display when moving in yards without 

trains? 
68 — What signal is it necessary to receive from rear end of a freight train 

before passing a station or siding at which it is not required to stop or 

before ascent or descent of heavy grades? 



180 APPENDIX H 

69— What signals are required on rear of every train as markers by day and 
by night? 

70 — How are signals at night displayed when train is in to clear on siding, to 
be passed by another train? 

71 — How must markers on rear of a train be changed at night when running 
against the current of traffic? 

72 — What is the duty of enginemen when displaying green signals for a fol- 
lowing section? 

73 — What response should be given? 

74 — Should a train on single track or at end of double track fail to acknowledge 
signals disnlayed for sections of a train, what would you do? 

75 — Are enginemen and trainmen excused from the responsibility of not 
observing signals, displayed for sections of a train whether their attention 
is called to them or not? 

76 — What is your duty when a combined blue and red signal is displayed at 
one or both ends of an engine, car or train? 

77 — Who has authority to display and remove a combined blue and red signal? 

78 — What does the explosion of one torpedo indicate? 

79 — What does the explosion of two torpedoes indicate? 

80 — Where should torpedoes be placed? 

81 — Where is it forbidden to place torpedoes? 

82 — Do you understand that the explosion of torpedoes indicate the same 
whether exploded on the right or left hand side of the engine or train? 

83 — What colored signals are displayed by sections of a train? 

84 — What sections of a train should display these signals? 

85 — What colored signals are displayed by extra trains? 

86 — When two or more engines are coupled, should all engines display the 
signals, and which engine should do the braking, and give the whistle sig- 
nals and acknowledgments? 

87 — Must the enginemen on all the engines know that the proper whistle sig- 
nals and acknowledgments are given? 

88 — If only one light or one flag is displayed as a classification signal, how 
must it be regarded and who are responsible for all train signals? 

89 — When cars are pushed by an engine (except when switching or making up 
trains in yards) what signal must be displayed on front of leading car 
by night? 

90 — How must each car in a passenger train be connected with the engine? 

91 — How must a signal imperfectly displayed, or the absence of a signal at a 
place where a signal is usually shown, be regarded? 

92 — How must a white signal, at a place where a colored signal is required, be 
regarded? 

93 — What signal is used to stop a train at a flag station indicated on its sched- 
ule? 

94 — When necessary to stop a train at a point that is not a flag station on its 
schedule, what signal must be used? 

95 — When a signal, except a fixed signal, is given to stop a train, how must 
it be acknowledged? 

96 — Are trainmen and firemen, as well as enginemen and conductors, required 
to observe all signals? 

97 — When must an engine bell be rung and when must it not be rung? 

98 — When must an engine whistle be sounded and when must it not be 
sounded? 

99 — Do you understand that unnecessary noise must be avoided while standing, 
running or switching in the vicinity of a passenger train? 

SUPERIORITY OF TRAINS. 

100 — How is one train made superior to another? 
101 — How is right, class and direction conferred? 
102 — Do you understand that right is superior to class and direction? 
103 — State the relative rights of each class of trains as classified on the time- 
table. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 181 

MOVEMENT OF TRAINS 

10-4 — Extra trains are of what class compared with regular trains? 

105— How long are time-table schedules in effect, unless fulfilled? 

106 — When do regular trains lose both right and schedule, and how can they 

be moved thereafter? 
107 — What must be ascertained before a, train leaves its initial station on any 

division or district, or a junction, or passes from double to single track? 
108 — How will this information be obtained? 
109 — Whose duty is it to register trains and check registers? 
110 — Should a train start without a proper signal? 
Ill — When a train of the same class in the same direction is overdue, how will 

a train leaving its initial station or junction proceed, and how should the 

overdue train be governed? 
112— How must a train be in respect to its own schedule to leave a station or 

junction ahead of an overdue train? If it is late, how must it proceed? 
113 — When no form of block signal is used, how far apart should trains going 

in the same direction keep? 
114 — When a train backs out of a siding, must it be protected? 
115 — What is required of inferior trains with respect to superior trains? 
116 — Failing to clear the main track by the time required by rule what must 

be done? 
117— At meeting points between trains of the same class, at what time is the 

inferior train required to clear the main track? 
118 — At meeting points between trains of different classes, at what time is the 

inferior train required to clear the main track? 
119 — At meeting points between extra trains, which train should take the sid- 
ing? 
120 — Do you understand that when a train is directed by train order to take 

the siding at a meeting point such provision applies only to that order? 
121 — If necessary to run by a switch to back in, what precaution must be 

taken? 
122 — When are trains required to stop at schedule meeting or passing points 

on single track, and at what point should the train be stopped? 
123 — When the expected train of the same class is not found at the schedule 

meeting or passing point, how will the superior train be governed? 
124 — On approaching a station at which a train should stop or take the siding 

to meet or be passed by another train, what signal must be given the en- 

gineman on a freight train and on a passenger train, and how should the 

engineman acknowledge these signals? 
125 — What must be done if engineman fails to answer signal? 
126 — May a train arrive at a station in advance of its scheduled arriving time? 
127 — May a train leave a station in advance of its scheduled leaving time? 
128 — How are main tracks to be used within yard limits? 
129 — At what points are yard limits located on this division? 
130 — How should all trains, except first class trains, approach and pass through 

yard limits, regular water stations and coaling stations? 
131 — In case a train overtakes a superior train or a train of the same class, so 

disabled that it cannot proceed, what should be done and what will the 

disabled train do under these circumstances? 
132 — May a train display signals for a following section, or an extra train be 

run on single track, without orders from the superintendent? 
133* — When signals displayed for a section on single track are taken down at 

any point before that section arrives, what is the conductor's duty? 
134 — How must trains approach the end of double track, junctions, railroad 

crossing at grade, and drawbridges? 
135 — What is required of both engineman and fireman approaching block sig- 
nals, stations, railroad crossings, drawbridges and junctions? 
136 — When a train is stopped, or delayed, under circumstances in which it may 

be overtaken by another train, what is the duty of the flagman and con- 
ductor? 
137_\Vhen recalled what is the duty of the flagman after reaching the required 

distance? . 

138 — Should a flagman be recalled before reaching the required distance what 

is his duty? 



182 APPENDIX H 

139 — How should the front of a train be protected? 

140 — Should a train for any cause be required to gradually reduce its speed 
between stations or at an unusual point, what is the duty of the engineman? 

141 — In case the engineman failed to sound the flag signal what is the duty of 
the conductor and flagman? 

142 — What is required of the conductor and engineman when the flagman is 
recalled? 

143 — When a flagman is sent out to signal an approaching train, where is he 
forbidden to stop? 

144 — What is the duty of the flagman and conductor when a train is to back 
out of a siding? 

145 — Is it forbidden to entrust the duties of a flagman to any person not en- 
tirely familiar with them? 

146 — When is it forbidden to call in the flagman? 

147 — When practicable to avoid it, where is it forbidden to allow a train to 
stand? 

148 — What is the duty of the engineman who picks up a flagman of a delayed 
train? 

149 — Does this relieve the conductor and flagman of the forward train from 
protecting their train? 

150 — What are the special instructions relative to the use of fusees? 

151 — What does a flagging signal equipment consist of? 

152 — When it is necessary for a train on double track to cross over to the op- 
posite track, how should it be protected by flagmen? 

153 — Where is it forbidden for a passenger train to stand? 

154 — What should trains do that collect mail bags from cranes, when running 
on other than the regular track? 

155 — How should engines and trains run when entering or moving through 
sidings and yard tracks? 

156— Before moving cars on public or private tracks, at freight or transfer 
houses and repair tracks, what precaution must first be taken? 

157 — Is it forbidden to kick or drop cars against other cars or engines on re- 
pair tracks? 

158— When cars are pushed by an engine (except when switching and making 
up trains in yards) what precautions must be taken? 

159 — What is the proper position of switches when not in use, and who are re- 
sponsible for the position of switches? 

160 — May a switch be left open for a following train? 

161 — When a train backs in on a siding to meet or be passed by another train, 
what is required of the engineman? 

162 — At meeting or passing points what is required of the employe attending 
the switch after locking it fpr main track? 

163 — Do you understand that conductors and enginemen are both responsible 
for the safety of their trains? 

164 — When cars are placed on sidings, what precaution must be taken? 

165 — What is required when switching over highways which are not protected 
by flagman or gates? 

166 — What is the duty of enginemen and trainmen approaching a station on 
a track adjoining one where another train is receiving or discharging pas- 
sengers? 

167 — When and by whom must special order books and bulletin boards be ex- 
amined? 
168 — When necessary to take coal or water, with a freight train of over 20 

cars, what is required? 
169 — What is required in case of doubt or uncertainty? 
170 — When the air-brake fails on a passenger train and it becomes necessary to 

use hand-brakes, what is the maximum speed per hour? 
171 — When an engine is detached from its train at night and goes for water, or 
under similar circumstances, what should be done to avoid possible colli- 
sion with the train when engine returns? 
172 — Is it forbidden to move an engine beyond the clearance point in any side 

track before the switch is set and a signal given to proceed? 
173 — What employes are required to familiarize themselves with the location of 
derails, and what must first be determined before proceeding? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 183 

174 — Is it required that derails be kept set and locked for derailment when not 
in use, irrespective of whether cars are on the siding or not? 

175 — What are the restrictions relative to running engines backward, either in 
passenger or freight service, or light? 

176 — What is the maximum speed that yard engines can be run without engine 
trucks or engine pilots? 

177 — Is it forbidden to apply brakes on bridges where possible to avoid it? 

RULES FOR MOVEMENT BY TRAIN ORDERS. 

178 — By whose authority and over whose signature are train orders issued? 

179 — Would you accept and act upon an order in which there are erasures, 
alterations or interlineations? 

180 — How must train orders be numbered? addressed? and who must have 
copies? 

181 — By whom should all train orders be read? 

182 — When a train has more than one engine, should each engineman have 
copies of all orders affecting the movement of the train? 

183 — In case a train has a pilot should he be furnished with a copy of all orders 
affecting the movement of the train? 

184 — How are regular and extra trains designated in train orders? 

185 — By whom shall form "31" orders be signed? 

186 — What entries must be made on a form "31" order before it can be acted 
upon? 

187 — Who shall deliver the copy of a form "31" order to the engineman? 

188 — To whom shall a conductor read a "31" order before acting on it? 

189 — To whom shall the engineman read a "31" order before acting on it? 

190 — What is the difference between a form "19" order and a form "31" order? 

191 — When a train order has been repeated, or X response sent, but has not 
been made "complete," how must such an order be treated? 

192 — If the line fails before an office has repeated an order or has sent the X 
response, how must the order be treated? 

193 — State in detail how you would handle a train order sent in your care to 
be delivered to a train at a point not a telegraph or telephone station or at 
one at which a telegraph or telephone office is closed? 

194 — How should orders so delivered be acted upon? 

195 — After receiving the signature of conductor and engineman, what is the 
duty of the person delivering the order? 

196 — What is necessary when conductor or engineman change before complet- 
ing trip? 

197 — When a train is named in a train order, are all its sections included, and 
must each section have copies of the order? 

198— How long do train orders continue in effect? 

199 — Are orders held by or issued for a train effective, when such train has lost 
both right and class? 

200 — When signalmen have orders for a train, what should be the position of 
the designated train-order signal? 

201 — When signalmen have no orders for a train, what should be the position 
of the designated train-order signal? 

202 — What authority must a train have to pass a train order signal when indi- 
cating stop? 

203 — If a signal is not displayed at a night office and trains have not been noti- 
fied, what is required? 

204 — What does a train-order signal indicate when the arm is horizontal? 

205 — Where the double arm semaphore is used, which arm governs the move- 
ment of a train? 

FORMS OF TRAIN ORDERS. 
FORM A. 

206 — Fixing Meeting Points for Opposing Trains. 

No. 1, engine 25, will meet No. 2, engine 23, at "B." 

What would you do if on No. 1? 

What would you do if on No. 2? 
No. 3, engine 21, will meet 2d No. 4, engine 36, at "B." 

What would you do if on No. 3? 

What would you do if on 2d No. 4? 



184 APPENDIX H 

No. 5, engine 13, will meet extra 95 east at "B." 
What would you do if on No. 5? 
What would you do if on Extra 95 East? 

If as conductor or engineman of No. 2 you held an order reading No. 1, engine 
25 will meet No. 2 engine 23 at "E" and No. 1 arrived at "E" displaying 
signals, how would you be governed? 

If you held an order to meet 2nd No. 1 at "E" and 2nd No. 1 arrived with sig- 
nals, how would you be governed — No. 2 being a train of superior direc- 
tion? 

If 2nd No. 1 arrived at "E" without markers, would you proceed? 

If as conductor or engineman of No. 2 you held an order reading No. 2, engine 
23 will meet 1st No. 1 at "E" and 2nd No. 1 at "D," and on arrival at "D" 
you receive an order reading No. 2 will meet 2nd No. 1 at "B" instead of 
"D", how would you be governed? 

Extra 652 East will meet extra 231 west at "B." 
What would you do if on extra 652? 
What would you do if on extra 231? 

No. 2, engine 23, and 2d No. 4, engine 36, will meet No. 1, engine 25, and No. 3, 
engine 21, at "C" and extra 95 west at "B." 
What would you do if on No. 2 or 2d No. 4? 
What would you do if on No. 1 or No. 3 or extra 95? 

FORM B. 

207 — Directing a Train to Pass or Run Ahead of Another Train. 

No. 1, engine 25, will pass No. 3, engine 36, at "K" and run ahead of No. 7, 
engine 41, "M" to "Z." 

What would you do if on No. 1, or No. 3 or No. 7? 
Extra 594 East will run ahead of No. 6, engine 35, "M" to "B." 

What would you do if on extra 594? 

What would you do if on No. 6, and what speed would you maintain? 

FORM C. 

208 — Giving a Train the Right Over an Opposing Train. 

No. 1, engine 25, has right over No. 2, engine 36, "G" to "X." 

What would you do if on No. 1 or No. 2? 
Extra 37 east has right over No. 3, engine 21, "F" to "A." 

What would you do if on extra 37 or No. 3? 
If as conductor or engineman of No. 2 you held an order reading No. 1, engine 

23, has right over No. 2, engine 25, "A" to "F," would you pass "F" before 

the arrival of No. 1 ? 
If as conductor or engineman of No. 3 you held an order reading Extra 580 

east, has right over No. 3, "F" to C," would you go beyond "C" before the 

arrival of the extra train, and if not, why? 
As conductor or engineman of Extra 580 east, how would you be governed? 
If your order to run extra extended beyond "C" and No. 3 had not reached "C" 

on your arrival, would you proceed against No. 3, and if so, under what 

circumstances? 
If you were on No. 2 and held an order reading No. 1 has right over No. 2, 

"A" to "F," and you should receive another order reading No. 2 will meet 

No. 1 at "C," which train would take the siding at "C"? 
When a right of track order is given to a train of inferior class against a train 

of superior class to a designated point, which train is required to take the 

siding if they meet at the designated point? 
If a right of track order is given an extra train against a superior class train to 

a designated point, can the superior class train move beyond the designated 

point if the extra train has not arrived? 

FORM D. 

209 — Giving Regular Trains the Right Over a Given Train. 

Regular trains have right over No. 1, engine 25, between "A" and "G." 
What would you do if on No. 1 and what would you do if on other regular 
trains? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 185 

FORM E. 
. . Time Orders. 

_; 210 — Train No. 1 is scheduled as follows: 
Leave "A" at 10:00 A. M. 
Leave "B" at 10:15 A. M. 
Arrive "C" at- 10:30 A. M. 
Leave "C" at 10:45 A. M. 
Leave "D" at 11:00 A. M. 
Arrive "Z* at 1:00 P. M. 
If as conductor or engineman of No. 1 you held an order reading: 
No. 1, engine 25 will run twenty (20) minutes late, "A" to "D." 

What time could No. 1 leave "C"? 
What time would No. 1 have a right to leave "D"? 
If you were running an opposing train of the same class and received the 

above order, up to what time would you have a right to go to "D"? 
Up to what time would you have a right to go to "C"? 
If you were running an opposing Extra or an inferior class train and received 

the above order, up to what time would you have a right to go to "D"? 
Up to what time would you have a right to go to "C"? 

If as conductor or engineman of an extra or an inferior class train running in 

the same direction, you held an order reading No. 1, engine 25, will run 

twenty (20) minutes late, "A" to "C," and ten (10) minutes late, "C" to 

"Z," what time must you clear No. 1 at "C"? 

If you were running an opposing train of the same class and received the 

above order, what time must 3 r ou clear No. 1 at "C"? 
If you were running an opposing extra or an inferior class train and received 

the above order, what time must you clear No. 1 at "C"? 
What time should No. 1 arrive at and depart from "C"? 
If as conductor or engineman of No. 1 you held an order reading: 
No. 1, engine 25, will wait at "B" until 10:25 A. M. for No. 2, engine 26, and at 

"C" until 11:00 A. M. for No. 6, engine 27, and extra 28 east. 
What time would you leave "B," "C" and "D"? 
If you were running No. 2 and held the above order, what time would you 

clear No. 1 at "B"? 
If you were running No. 6 or extra 28 east and held the above order, what time 
would you clear No. 1 at "C"? 

FORM F. 
211 — For Sections. 

Engine 25 will display signals and run as 1st No. 1, "A" to "Z." 

If on first No. 1, what would you do?" 

Engine 20 will run as 2d No. 1, "A" to "Z." 

If on engine 20, what would you do? 

No. 1, engine 25, will display signals "A" to "G" for engine 20. 

What would you do if on engine 25 or on engine 20? 

Engines 25, 20 and 99 will run as 1st, 2d and 3d No. 1, "A" to "Z." 

How would you proceed if on engine 25, 20 or 99? 

Engine 85 is annulled as 2d No. 1 from "H." Following sections will 

change numbers accordingly.. 
What would you do if on engine 85 or on following sections? 

FORM G. 
212— Extra Trains. 

Engine 99 will run extra, "A" to "F." 

If on engine 99, how would you proceed and what rights does this give 
you to the main track at "A" and at "F"? 
■ Engine 99 will run extra, "A" to "F" and return to "C." 
If on engine 99, how would you proceed? 

Engine 77 will run extra leaving "A" on Thursday, February 17, as fol- 
lows, with right over all trains: 

Leave "A" eleven thirty (11:30) P. M. 
Leave "C" twelve twenty-five (12:25) A. M. 
Leave "E" one forty-seven (1:47) A. M. 
Arrive "F" two twenty-two (2:22) A. M. 
How would you run with respect to this order if on engine 77? 
How much should other trains clear the schedule of extra 771 



186 APPENDIX H 

FORM H. 

213— Work Extra. 

Work extra 292 will work seven (7:00) A. M. until six (6:00) P. M. between 

"D" and "E." 
With this order, what would you do with respect to regular and extra 

trains? 
Work extra 292 will work seven (7:00) A. M. until six (6:00) P. M. between 

"D" and "E," protecting itself. 
With this order, what would you do with respect to the protection of your 

train? 
Work extra 292 will keep clear of or protect against extra 76 east, between 

"D" and "E" after two ten (2:10) P. M. 
If on extra 292, what time would you clear the main track? 
If on extra 76 east, what time would you leave "E"? 
Work extra 292 has right over all trains between "D" and "E," seven (7:00) 

P. M. to twelve (12:00) midnight. 
What would you do if on work extra 292? 

If on other trains, would you leave "D" or "E" until after (12:00) mid- 
night? 
Whenever an extra is given orders to run over working limits, should it be 

given a copy of the order sent to the work extra? 

FORM T. 
214— Holding Order. 

Hold No. 2, engine 21, at "D." 

If on No. 2, how would you respect this order? 

Hold all eastbound trains at "O." 

How should this order be respected by eastbound trains? 

When trains are so held, what is necessary before they can proceed? 

FORM K. 

215 — Annulling a Regular Train. 

No. 1 of February 29, is annulled, "A" to "Z." 

How would this order affect No. 1 between "A" and "Z"? 

How would this affect No. 1 east of "A" and west of "Z"? 

Second No. 5, due to leave "A" Saturday, February 29, is annulled "E' 

"G." 
How would this order affect 2nd No. 5 between "E" and "G"? 
How would this order affect 2nd No. 5 west of "G" and east of "E"? 

FORM L. 
216 — Annulling an Order. 

Order No. 10 is annulled. 

Can an order that has been annulled be reissued under its original number? 

FORM M. 
217 — Annulling Part of an Order. 

That part of order No. 10 reading: "No. 1, engine 25, will meet No. 2, en- 
gine 21, at "S," is annulled. 
If on No. 1 or No. 2, what would you do? 

FORM P. 

218 — Superseding an Order or Part of an Order. 

No. 1, engine 25, will meet No. 2, engine 21, at "C" instsead of "B." 

What would you do if on No. 1 or No. 2? 

No. 1, engine 25, has right over No. 2, engine 21, "G" to "N," instead of 

X. 
If on No. 1 or No. 2, what would you do? 

FORM R. 

219 — Providing for a Movement Against the Current of Traffic. 

No. 1, engine 2544, has right over opposing trains on No. 2 (or eastward) 

track "H" to "Z." 
If on No. 1 or on east bound trains, what would you do? 






QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 187 

FORM S. 
220 — Providing for the Use of a Section of Double Track as Single Track. 

Eastward track will be used as single track between "F" and "G," from 

10:00 A. M. until 1:00 P. M. 
How would trains run with respect to this order? 

How would trains running against the current of traffic on the track 
named in above order be governed after 1:00 P. M.? 

MANUAL BLOCK SIGNALS. 

221 — What is a positive block system? 
What is a permissive block system? 
What is a home block signal? 
Do you understand that the position of the arm displayed to the right of 

the signal mast, and the color of the light by night, as seen from an 

approaching train, give the indication? 
How is "stop" indicated by day and by night? 
How is "caution" indicated by day and by night? 
How is "clear" indicated by day and by night? 

AUTOMATIC BLOCK SIGNAL INTERLOCKING AND TELEPHONE 

SYSTEM. 

222 — What is an automatic block system? 

223— What is a block? 

224 — What is a block signal? 

225 — What is a caution signal? 

226 — What is a telephone train order signal? 

227 — What is a grade signal? 

228 — What part of this division is equipped with automaitc block signals? 

229 — At what points are telephone train-order signals located on this division? 

230 — At what points are grade signals located on this division? 

231 — How are automatic block signals numbered? 

232 — Where signals are located on bracket posts, by what signal are trains 
governed? 

233 — Are all main track switches and derails connected with the automatic sig- 
nal system, and how do they affect the signals? 

234 — Unless otherwise provided, do automatic block signals affect the rights of 
trains under time-table rules, or train rules, or dispense with the use or 
the observance of other signals whenever and wherever they may be 
required? 

235 — Do automatic block signals apply to trains running against the current of 
traffic? 

236 — How should trains approach a signal indicating stop? 

237 — How should a train proceed passing a signal indicating caution? 

238 — When from any cause a signal cannot be plainly seen, how should trains 
approach it? 

239 — Do block signals relieve enginemen and trainmen from the duty and re- 
sponsibility of prompt and proper flagging? 

240 — If a train passes beyond the limits of a block, under what circumstances 
may it back into the block? 

241 — Do block signals supersede observance of rules 111 and 112 of the Operat- 
ing Department? 

242 — What is required before a train is backed or pulled out of a siding or 
crossed over to a main track against the current of traffic? 

243 — What is required in the absence of a signal at a place where one is usually 
shown, a white signal at a place where a colored signal should be shown 
or an imperfectly displayed signal? 

244 — On double track if the signal is at stop, how would you be governed? 

245 — On single track if the signal is at stop, how would you be governed? 
246 — If you passed a signal and it did not go to stop, what would you do? 
247 — How should a train proceed after passing a signal in stop position? 
248 — Are passenger trains allowed to pass a grade signal, when the block sig- 
nal is in stop position, without coming to a full stop? 
249 — What percentage of engine rating are freight trains required to have in 
order to pass a grade signal when block signal is in stop position with- 
out coming to a stop? 



188 APPENDIX II 

250 — How can you ascertain where telephone train order signals are located? 
251 — A telephone train order signal horizontal red light at night, indicates 

what? 
252 — A telephone train order signal inclined 45 degrees above horizontal yel- 
low light at night, indicates what? 
253 — A telephone train order signal inclined 90 degrees above horizontal, green 

light at night indicates what? 
254 — When is it forbidden to accept the proceed indication of a train-order 

signal? 
255 — If you do not make your usual running time, what is required? 
256 — May interlocking signals be used as train order signals? 
257 — Under what circumstances would you accept hand signals at interlocking 

plants ? 
258— Does a dwarf signal set at proceed, indicate a clear track or proceed with 

caution ? 
259- — How would you proceed on a caution signal? 
260 — At a point where a block signal is also used as a train order signal, what are 

conductors and enginemen required to procure before passing it in a sto^ posi- 
tion? 
261 — At a point where an interlocking signal is also used as a block signal, what 

are conductors and enginemen required to procure before passing it in a stop 

position? 
262 — At a point where an interlocking signal is also used as a train order signal, 

what are conductors and enginemen required to procure before passing it in a 

stop position? 
263 — At a point where an interlocking signal is also used as a train order signal, 

and a block signal, what are conductors and enginemen required to procure 

before passing it in a stop position. 

AIR BRAKE EXAMINATION. 

264 — Do you understand that an air brake is a brake operated by compressed air? 
How is compressed air supplied? 
Should the brake and signal pipe be blown out by opening the angle cock and 

stop cock at rear end of tender and front end of engine, and when should 

this be done? 
Should the train brakes always be tested before leaving a terminal? 
What is the least pressure that the brakes should be tested with on freight 

trains? 
If you are on a passenger train, would you make a running test of the brakes 

after starting out from a terminal, or when there has been any change in 

the make-up of your train or approaching dangerous places? 
If a brake is found to stick on a car, how should it be released? 
How long should the release valve or release cock be open? 
If the release valve is held open after the exhaust is heard at the triple valve, 

what would happen? 
Name the important parts of the automatic air brake applied to a car? 
Explain the passage of air from the time it enters the brake pipe until it is ex- 
hausted to the atmosphere? 
What are the duties of the triple valve? 
Does each car in the train carry its own braking power? 
Where is the braking power carried? 
How is the automatic brake applied? 
How is the automatic brake released? 
Why is excess pressure carried? 
When the train is fully charged, is the pressure in the auxiliary reservoirs and 

brake pipe the same? 
What is the maximum pressure to be carried in the brake pipe and auxiliary? 

reservoirs in low speed passenger and freight service? 
What is the maximum pressure to be carried in the brake pipe and auxiliary 

reservoirs in high speed passenger service? 
What pressure should be carried in the air signal line? 
What pressure is carried for the straight air or independent brake valve? 
What is a pressure retaining valve for? 

How much pressure does the retaining valve hold in the brake cylinder? 
Where are pressure retaining valves used? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 189 

When part of the retaining valves on a train are to be used, what part of the 

train should they be used on? 
Why should this be done? 
When two or more engines are coupled to a train, which engineman should 

operate the brakes ? 
What is a high speed reducing valve? 
If you are running a high speed passenger train, and you pick up a car that is 

not equipped with the high speed reducing valve, what should be done? 
If you are running a freight train and you pick up a high speed passenger car, 

what changes must be made, if any? 
If a brake pipe is broken under a passenger car, how could the brakes be oper- 
ated on the other cars in the train without switching the disabled; car to 

the rear end of train? 
When the signal line has been used for the brake pipe, can the conductor signal 

the engineman. with the air signal, and if so, from what part of the train 

can it be operated? 
Is it necessary to make a test of the brakes after the train has parted and has 

again been coupled? 
When is it permissible to cut out brakes on cars ? 
What effect has brake pipe leakage on the operation of the brakes? 
Are small leaks sufficient cause for cutting out cars ? 
How should the brakes be applied when making a standing test? 
What is the proper piston travel for passenger or freight cars? 
What is the proper piston travel for tenders ? 
How should air hose be parted? 
Do you understand that the rear car in a passenger train must always have the 

air brake working and never cut out? 



FINAL QUESTIONS ON MACHINERY OF FIREMEN TO BE PROMOTED TO 
THE POSITION OF ENGINEER. 

1 — What is your full name? 

2 — What is your age, last birthday? 

3 — What is your past Railroad experience? Give below the name of road or 

roads on which employed, together with location, and length of service. 
4 — When did you enter the service of this Company, and in what capacity have you 

since been employed? 
5 — What are the principal duties of an engineer before attaching his engine to a 

train ? 
6 — What is important in carrying water in the boiler, as to height and regularity? 
7 — What effect does shutting off the throttle have on the water in the boiler ?_ 
8 — Should the water in the boiler get too low to allow you time for examination, 

what would you do>? 
9 — Should the water in the boiler become disturbed and foam, what would you do, 
and how would you ascertain whether it was foaming or being over-pumped? 
10 — Should your engine become disabled on the road, what are your first duties? 
11 — Should the blow-off cock be blown off, or be broken off, or a hole be broken in 

the boiler in any way, what would you do ? 
12 — What portions of the engine would you disconnect in such a case, provided it 

is necessary to draw the fire? 
13 — What do you consider the best practice in the use of steam on a locomotive? 
14 — What is important to observe in setting up or adjusting wedges? 
15 — How would you go about setting them up? 

16— How would you key up or adjust the side rods of a ten-wheel or a consolida- 
tion engine? 
17 — Why should you place the engine on exact dead centre, and begin keying the 

main connection first? 
18— Can the side rods be keyed too long or too short when standing in any position, 

if the engine has two keys to the pin? 
19 — If too long or too short, at what point of the stroke will the strain be? 
20 — Should the back motion eccentric of your engine slip while on the road, how 
would you reset it? 



190 APPENDIX H 

21 — Should a valve yoke break, how would you test in order to determine which side 

was disabled? 
22 — Why should you place your engine at half stroke on the side you wish to test' 
23 — After locating the broken yoke, how would you disconnect? 
24 — Should a front cylinder head blow out or break, how would you disconnect? 
25 — How would you proceed to block the crosshead securely? 
26 — Suppose your engine had patent metallic valve rod packing, and you had no 

clamp to clamp the valve, what would you do? 
27 — In case of cylinder packing rings blowing so badly that you could not haul 

train, what would you do? 
28 — How should an injector be started? 
29 — How should an injector be stopped? 
30 — Explain the essential working features of an injector? 
31 — How should the different makes of injectors be converted into a heater? 
32 — How does an injector raise water to the overflow? 

33 — Why can an injector force water into a boiler against the boiler pressure? 
34 — Name the different makes of injectors used by this Company. 
35 — Should an injector fail on the road, what would you do? Failing to get in- 
jectors to work, what would you do? 
36 — If you discover the main rod too long or too short, what would you do? 
37 — Should a top rocker arm break, how would you disconnect? 
38 — Should a tumbling shaft break, what would you do? 
39 — Should the bottom rocker arm break, how would you disconnect? 
40 — Should a link hanger break, how would you disconnect? 
41 — In what way would you have control of your engine with broken link hanger, 

in case it was not practicable to run with link blocked up? 
42 — Should an eccentric strap break, how would you disconnect? 
43 — Should the back section of a side rod break on a six-wheel connected engine, 

what would you do? 
44 — Should a forward section break, how would you disconnect? 
45 — Should a back or front section of a side rod break on a consolidated engine, 

how would you disconnect? 
46 — Should a middle section break on a consolidation engine, how would you dis- 
connect? 
47 — Should the throttle valve become disconnected inside the boiler partly open, 

wide open or closed, what would you do? 
48 — Should one of the forward tires on a ten-wheel engine break, what wheel 

would you run on a block? How would you manage? 
49 — Should a main tire break on a ten-wheel engine, what wheel would you run 

up on a block? How would you manage? 
50 — Should the back tire break on a ten-wheel engine, what wheel would you run 

up on a block? How would you manage? 
51 — What would you do in case you broke a back driving wheel off on a consoli- 
dation engine? 
52 — What would you do in case you broke the right main driving wheel off on a 

four-wheel coupled engine? 
53 — What would you do in case a front engine truck axle of a four-wheel coupled 

engine broke? 
54 — What would you do in case a tender truck wheel is broken? 
55 — What would you do in case a boiler check broke or stuck? 
56 — Should a steam chest burst or break, what would you do? 

57 — In case right forward motion eccentric rod should break, what would you do? 
58 — In case left back eccentric rod should break, what would you do? 
59 — In case right piston rod should break through key-way, what would you do? 
60 — Should the crosshead break or should the crosshead gib break, what would 

you do? 
61 — How would you tell if you had a piston rod loose in the crosshead or a piston 

loose on the rod? What would you do in case these difficulties were found? 
62 — In case of failure of water supply in tank, or tank valves become disconnected 

in tank, what would you do? 
63 — Is it necessary to have strainers in the hose, and if so, why? 
64 — In case of blockade from snow or other causes, and. water low in tank, what 

would you do? 
65 — What further would you do to protect your cylinders from damage by frost? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 191 

66 — In case a hole should be knocked in tank, or a serious leak develop suddenly, 

what would you do? 
67— Tell the difference between the slide valve blowing and the cylinder packing, 

and in what manner can you tell on which side your packing is blowing? In 

what manner can you tell on which side your valve strips are down? 
68 — How would you test for a blow in the valve of a piston valve engine? 
69 — Tell how you would test for a blow of the admission or exhaust rings of a 

piston valve engine? 
70 — In testing for blows, is it necessary to take into consideration the fact of an 

engine having a single or double nozzle? 
71 — Explain the difference between an outside and an inside admission valve? 
72 — How would you test for a blow in by-pass valve of a piston valve engine? 
73 — How would you test for a blow in the by-pass valve on the different classes of 

engines ? 
74 — How would you manage in case you found one broken? 
75 — In case the steam-pipe to the by-pass valve of an H-22 engine was broken, 

how would you manage? 
76 — In case the reach rod or lead bar broke, in what manner would you proceed? 
77 — Should a front driving-spring break on a consolidation engine, what would you 

do? What wheel would you run on a block to handle it? 
78 — If a back spring should break, what would you do? 
79 — Should a front driving spring break on a four-wheel coupled engine, what 

wheel would you run on a block to handle it? What would you do? 
80 — If a back driving spring should break, what would you do? 
81 — Describe the different methods of blocking an engine with overhung springs, 

with underhung springs, and how would you manage to keep engine on the 

track ? 
82— Describe the location of the throttle valve, and why it is located in that po- 
sition ? 
83 — Describe the means employed to convey the steam to the steam pipes and 

thence to the steam chest? 
84 — Describe how the steam enters and is discharged from the cylinders? 
85 — What is meant by valve lead? 

86 — What is meant by outside lap, and what is it for? 

87 — If a right lead engine is on the top quarter, what position is the left side in? 
88 — If the reverse lever is placed in the centre when engine is standing as in the 

last question, what would be the position of the right valve? What would be 

the position of the left valve? 
89 — What is the vacuum valve on the steam chest for? 
90 — In case a boiler tube should burst on the trip, what would you do? 
91 — In case a piston or valve stem gland stud on either side should break, what 

would you do? 
92 — In case both piston gland studs broke off on one side, what would you do? 
93 — Explain the draught arrangements in the smoke box of a locomotive? 
94 — Explain what effect the diaphragm plate has on the fire? 
95— In case of partial failure of spark arrester or ash pans, what is your duty? 
96 — In case of failure of spark arrester and the throwing of sparks to a dangerous 

extent, what would you do? 
97 — Explain the difference between a simple and a compound engine? 
98 — How would you test for a blow in high pressure cylinder? 
99 — How would you test for a blow in low pressure cylinder? 

100 — How many positions can the starting lever be put into on a compound en- 
gine? 
101 — What is accomplished by using the different positions? 
102 — Explain how a compound engine should be started? 
103 — What is the difference between a valve in a simple engine and a valve in a 

four-cylinder compound engine? 
104 — Trace the movement of the steam from the time it enters the throttle until it is 
discharged from the exhaust nozzle on a four-cylinder compound engine work- 
ing compound? 
105 — When should a compound engine be worked simple? 
106— Why is it important that the cylinder cocks should be kept open when starting 

a compound engine? 
107 — In case a main rod or strap on a four-cylinder compound engine should break, 
what would you do? 



192 APPENDIX H 

108 — In case a high pressure piston rod should break on a four-cylinder compound 

engine, what would you do? 
109 — In case a low pressure piston rod should break on a four-cylinder compound 

engine, what would you do? 
110 — In case of a broken valve stem on a compound engine, what would you do? 
Ill — In case the rear draw bar casting of tender should become broken, what 

would you do? 
112 — What would you do in case pulling bar breaks between engine and tank? 
113 — What would you do in case vacuum valve blew out? 
11-1 — What would you do in case a gauge cock blew out? 
115 — What would you do in case the throttle stem packing blew out? 
116 — What would you do in case the metallic piston packing blew out? 
117 — What would you do in case the metallic valve stem packing blew out? 
118 — Describe the location of release port in the balance valve, and what is it for? 
119 — What would you do in case equalizer stand broke on an eight-wheel engine, 

and it clamped the reach rod between the equalizer and the boiler so you could not 

move your engine? 
120 — Explain the working of the lubricator, its duties, and its essential features? 
121 — How would insufficient lubrication on valves and cylinders be detected? 

How would it affect the working of an engine? 
122 — What is important to observe in lubricating an engine? 
123 — What are the principal parts of a locomotive boiler? 
124 — What steam pressures are engines that you are familiar with allowed to carry? 

Does that denote total pressure or pressure per square inch ? 
125 — Name the sheets in the fire box. 

126 — How is the strength of iron and steel affected by being heated to red heat? 
127 — Since heat has this effect upon steel, how is it that the firebox and sheets 

which are quite thin, and are subjected to a high temperature, and the steam 

pressure 200 pounds pressure per square inch can bear such pressure without 

being either torn or deformed? 
128 — What are crown bars and crown-sheet stays, and what duty do they perform' 

What are flues and what are their use? 
129- — Should the blower pipe break or burn off, what would you do? 
130 — How are the surfaces of the boiler exposed to the heat from the fire prevented 

from becoming overheated? 
131 — How can you tell the depth of water on the crown sheet? 
132 — What would occur if sufficient water was not kept on the crown sheet? 
133 — What is an engineman's principal duty in regard to the care of the boiler? 
134 — Can flues be damaged in any other way than by absence of water? 
135 — What means have you of ascertaining the steam pressure in the boiler? 
136 — What effect does extreme variation in steam pressure have on the boiler? 
137 — Why is it necessary to pay strict attention to the blowing off point of the 

safety valve and make comparison with the steam gauge? 
138 — What are the best methods used to distribute sand on the rail to prevent 

engine from slipping, and how would you do it? Explain the operation of the 

automatic air sanding device. 
139 — Should the water glass be relied upon entirely to show the correct water level 

in a boiler? 
140 — Explain the difference in arrangement in the valve gear between the direct 

and indirect motion engine. 
141 — How are accidents and break-downs best prevented? 



QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO MALLET COMPOUND ENGINES 

142 — What is the arrangement of cylinders on Mallet Compound Engines? 

143 — Describe the make of valve on high pressure engines. On low pressure 

engines. 
144 — Does the engine work simple or compound when first started? 
145 — When does the engine work compound? 
146 — When engine is working compound, what changes are necessary to make 

engine work simple? 
147 — Describe the intercepting valve and what are its duties? 
148 — How would you determine if intercepting valve was stuck open? If stuck 

closed? 
149 — Describe how steam is conveyed from high to low pressure cylinders. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN ' 193 

ISO — In starting locomotive, if forward engine does not take steam, what is the 

trouble ? 
151 — How would you test valves on high pressure engines? 
152 — How would you test valves on low pressure engines? 
153 — How would you test cylinder packing on high pressure engines? 
154 — How would you test cylinder packing on low pressure engines? 
155 — What is the duty of by-pass valve on side of low pressure cylinders? 
156 — Should by-pass valve be stuck open what would be the effect? Should they 

become stuck shut what would be the effect? 
157 — What would you do if stuck open? If stuck shut? 
158 — -What would you do if high pressure piston was broken? If low pressure 

rod was broken? 
159— Describe the course taken by the steam from the time it leaves the boiler 

until it is exhausted from stack when starting? When working compound? 
160 — Give a brief explanation of the Walscheart valve gear. 
161 — If the radius rod on Walscheart gear is disabled, what should be done? 
162 — With Walscheart gear, what would you do if valve yoke was broken ? 
163 — How would you know when ports are covered, with Walscheart gear? 
164 — What would you disconnect if eccentric crank, eccentric rod, or the arm at 

bottom of link should break? 
165 — Give a brief explanation of the Baker Locomotive valve gear. 
166-A — How many essential features are there in the Baker locomotive valve 

gear? 
166-B — Name the essential features referred to in Question 166-A. 

BREAK DOWNS OF THE BAKER VALVE GEAR 

167 — Should you break eccentric crank, eccentric rod, gear connection rod, (upper 
or lower part), raaius bars or horizontal arm of bell crank, what would you 
do? 

168 — Should you break crosshead arm or union link, what would you do? 

169 — Should you break combination lever, lower arm of bell crank or valve rod, 
what would you do? 

170 — Should you break reverse arms or reach rods, what would you do? 

171 — Should tumbling shaft or tumbling shaft box break, what would you do? 

172 — Should reverse yoke break above radius bar suspension, what would you do? 



FINAL QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION OF FIREMEN TO BE PROMOTED 

TO THE POSITION OF ENGINEER, COVERING THEIR KNOWLEDGE 

OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE AIR BRAKE. 

1 — What kind of power brakes are in use on locomotives on this railroad? 

2 — Name the parts that go to make up the automatic air brake equipment. 

3 — For what purpose is the air pressure stored in the main reservoir? 

4 — Where else is air pressure stored for use with the automatic brake ? 

5 — Where does the air pressure first go, after being compressed by the air pump? 
Where does it next go? 

6 — What is the standard main reservoir pressure on passenger engines? 

7 — What is the standard brake pipe pressure for both passenger and freight en- 
gines ? 

8 — Is any higher pressure ever used in passenger service? When? 

9 — Is any higher pressure ever used in freight service? When? 

10 — What are the main reservoir and brake pipe pressure in such cases? 

11 — How is the automatic brake applied? How released? 

12 — How should the. air pump be started? 

13 — How should it be run at all times? 

14 — How should the steam cylinder of the air pump be lubricated? 

15 — How should the air cylinder be lubricated? 

16 — Is there anything else about the air pump to be lubricated? 

17 — What kind of oil, only, should be used about the pump? 



194 APPENDIX H 

18 — If the air pump stops, what should he done? 

19 — How would you try to start it? 

20 — What causes an air pump to stop ? 

21 — Why should not engine, or other light bodied oil be used in the pump? 

22 — What stops the pump when the proper pressure has been obtained? 

23 — With the Westinghouse brake valve, is the pump governor attached to the 

main reservoir or brake pipe? 
2-1 — With the New York B or B 1 brake valve what governs the brake pipe pressure? 
25 — What governs the main reservoir pressure, with the handle of this valve in 
running position? What controls main reservoir pressure when the brake is 
applied? 
26 — With the Westinghouse brake valve, what regulates brake pipe pressure? 
27 — With the New York B 2 and B 3 brake valves what regulates the brake pipe 

pressure? What regulates the main reservoir pressure? 
28 — Which hand on the gauge denotes main reservoir pressure? 
29 — What does the black hand denote? 
30 — For what purpose is excess pressure used? 
31 — What are the positions of the Westinghouse brake valve handle? State what 

each is for. 
32 — With the New York brake valves, what are the positions of the handles? 
33 — With the New York B and B 1 brake valves state what these positions are for. 

With the New York B 2 and B' brake valves what are they for? 
34 — If the air pump makes a quick stroke one way and slow the other, what would 
be the cause? How could it be quickly determined which end of the air cylin- 
der was defective? 
35 — How can we test the air valves for leakage, in the 9VS" and 11" Westinghouse 

air pumps? How in the New York No. 5 pump? 
36 — How would you test for leaky air packing rings in the air cylinders? 
37 — How often should the main reservoirs be drained? 
38 — How would you test for a main reservoir leak? 

39 — What equipment besides the air brake, is main reservoir pressure used for? 
40 — What valve or valves does the main reservoir pressure have to pass through 

to get into the brake pipe? 
41 — Describe the passage of air after leaving the brake valve. 
42 — Where does brake pipe pressure end? 
43 — Where does the auxiliary reservoir pressure begin ? 

44 — What is the standard auxiliary reservoir pressure? What is the auxiliary res- 
ervoir pressure when using the High Speed brake? 
45 — To what is the brake pipe connected under an engine, tender, or car? 
46 — To what is the triple valve connected ? 
47 — Where is the pressure stored for applying the automatic brake? Where is it 

stored for releasing? 
48 — Where does the auxiliary reservoir draw its pressure directly from? 
49 — How long does it take to charge an auxiliary reservoir from to 70 pounds? 

How long from 50 to 70 pounds? 
50 — What is the difference between main reservoir and brake pipe pressure called? 

For what is it used? 
51 — .Does it increase as the brake is applied? 

52 — Some engines equipped with New York B or B 1 brake valves have three gover- 
nor tops ; what is the third one for? What are the other two for? 
53 — How should a governor having two tops be adjusted? How one with three 

tops? 
54 — Tf the air pump stops before maximum pressure is obtained, how could you 
determine whether the pump or pump governor was at fault? What would you 
do to remedy the defect? 
55 — How long should the handle of the brake valve be held in release position 

when releasing brakes with a passenger train? With a freight train? 
56 — What will be the effect, with a Westinghouse or New York B or B 1 brake 
valve, if the handle is held too long in release position, before coming to run- 
ning position, with a passenger train, if the brake pipe is not perfectly tight? 
What effect would it have on a long freight train, with a Westinghouse brake 
valve? With a New York valve? 1 
57 — What will be the result if the handle of a New York B 3 or B 3 brake valve 
is held too long in release position ? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN 195 

58 — Why would we overcharge a short train but not a long one, with a New York 

B or BValve? 
59 — What would you do if you did overcharge a train when standing? What if 

running? 
60 — How long should the brake valve handle be held in release position with a 

lone engine? 
61 — After the brakes are properly released, should the brake valve handle be put 

back in release position, with a passenger train? Should it be with a long- 
freight train? 
62 — In making a terminal test of the brakes, on a train, how could you determine 

the amount of leakage in the brake pipe? 
63 — How could you test for a leak in the air signal pipe on the engine? 
64 — Which air cylinder of a New York air pump requires the most oil? Why? 
65 — How can you test the air gauge by means of the brake valve? 
66 — How could you test the signal line pressure? 

67 — In case an air hose should burst, or the train break in two what would you do? 
68 — If an air hose should burst, how could you help the train crew find it? 
69 — What is the purpose of the little reservoir connected to the Westinghouse 

brake valve? What would you do if the pipe leading to it was broken? 
70 — What is the purpose of the little reservoir connected to the New York brake 

valve? If this pipe got broken off, how would you operate the valve? 
71 — What would be the effect if the pipe leading to the little feservoir leaked? 
72 — What would you do if you had a broken brake pipe under the tender of a 

passenger engine? 
73 — If the brake pipe on a passenger engine was broken, what would you do? 
74 — What are the duties of the triple valve? 
75 — What are the principal parts of a triple valve? 
76 — What two pressures operate the triple valve in applying and releasing the 

brakes ? 
77 — How do they compare when fully charged? 

78— Which pressure moves the triple piston to apply the brake? Which to release? 
79 — If you reduce brake pipe pressure five pounds, how much pressure will leave 

the auxiliary reservoir, and go to the brake cylinder? If you reduce ten pounds? 

Twenty? Twenty-five? Why did not more leave the auxiliary reservoir after 

you reduced twenty pounds? 
80 — How much pressure have you now in the auxiliary reservoir, brake cylinder 

and brake pipe? 
81 — Would a further reduction of brake pipe pressure applv the brake any harder? 

Why? 
82— What pressure should you have before testing brakes? 
83 — When applying brakes can you tell about how many cars of air are coupled up? 

How? 
84 — When applying brakes, if the brake pipe exhaust at the brake valve is weak, 

what does it denote? 
85 — When double heading, which engineer should control the brakes? What 

should the other engineers do? 
86 — Could vou tell from the head engine if they had? How? 
87 — What effect would it have, if they had not cut out, when you attempted to 

apply the brakes? 
88— What is a running test? Should frequent use of this be made with passenger 

trains? 
89 — In making a two application stop, how should the brake valve be handled, so 

that the brakes will respond promptly to the first reduction of the second ap- 
plication? 
90— Can you get quick action of the brakes after a partial application with West- 
inghouse triple valves? With New York triple valves? 
91— Why is it dangerous to apply and release the brakes repeatedly when making 

a station stop? 
92— What are leakage, grooves and do you have to allow for them, when applying 

the brakes? How? 
93— As a rule, how much of a brake pipe reduction does it require to move the pis- 
tons beyond these gooves? 
94_Does a long train require any greater reduction than a short one? 
95— When you cut off from a double header, on which you have been operating the 

brakes, what is your last duty? 



196 APPENDIX H 

96 — When do you consider the most important time to look at your air gauge? 
97 — How should you handle the brake valve when coupling on to an uncharged 

train, or when picking up several uncharged cars? 
98 — When testing brakes, could you tell by means of the brake valve if quick action 

took place? How? 
99 — Should any attention be given to the brake pipe exhaust when applying brakes? 

Why? 
100 — What position of the brake valve should be used when recharging on a grade? 
101 — Why should you open the angle cock on the rear end of tender, especially 

in cold weather before leaving the roundhouse? 
102 — What will be the effect if the vent port in the pump governor is stopped up? 

What if the waste port is stopped? 
103 — What defects in the Westinghouse brake valve would prevent excess pressure 

being carried? 
104 — How could a leak in the rotary valve, or lower gasket, be distinguished from a 

leak in the feed valve attachment, or the gasket between it and the brake 

valve? 
105 — If the driver brake gradually leaks off after an application, without an ex- 
haust through the triple valve, what would you report? 
106 — With a New York B or B l brake valve, if the pipe to the brake pipe governor 

should get broken, what would you do? 
107 — What would you do if the pipe to the main reservoir governor was broken? 
108 — What would you do if the pipe to the Westinghouse single governor broke 

off? What if either pipe to the gauge, with any kind of a brake valve was 

broken ? 
109 — Why should the brakes always be tested before leaving a terminal, or after any 

change has been made in the make up of a train, or after the air hose have 

been parted for any purpose? 
110 — If the signal line fails to charge, where would you first look for the trouble? 

Where next? 
Ill — If the signal whistle gives a weak blast, what may be wrong? 
112 — If the signal line was fully charged what would cause it not to respond to a 

reduction in pressure? 
113 — If the whistle blows when the brake is released what would it denote? 
114 — How should sand be used in making a stop? 
115 — With a New York brake valve which service notch should be used, when 

making the first reduction with a train of 3 or 4 cars or less? With five or 

more? 
116 — If it fails to automatically lap, what would you do? 
117 — How can the slide valves in the New York automatic or straight air brake 

valves be oiled? 
118 — What are the essential parts of the straight air brake? 
119 — In what position should the handle of the straight air brake valve be 

carried when not in use? 
120 — In what position should the handle of the automatic brake valve be carried 

when not in use? 
121 — What would be the effect of applying the straight air and then the automatic? 

Would there be any bad effect when the automatic brake was applied, if the 
straight air was applied, before the automatic was released? 
122 — What defect would cause a blow at the exhaust port of a plain triple valve? 
123 — What would cause a blow at the triple valve exhaust, when the straight air 

was applied? What would cause a blow at the straight air brake valve when 

the automatic brake was applied? 
124 — What is the use of the safety valve in connection with the straight air brake? 
125 — What is the duty of the feed valve attachment on the Westinghouse brake 

valve ? 
126 — Why will brakes apply, if you leave the handle of the brake valve too long in 
full release before going to running position, if there are leaks in the brake 
pipe? 
127 — In making a service application, where do you draw the air from directly, 
when using a New York brake valve? When using a Westinghouse brake 
valve ? 
128 — How should all stops with a freight train be made? 
129 — What is an application of the brake? 
130— What is meant by a reduction? 



QUALIFICATIONS OF FIREMEN" 197 

131 — How much of a reduction should be made for the first, when making an 

ordinary stop? After the first reduction how heavy should the succeeding 

ones be? 
132 — Do you consider a one or two application stop best with a passenger train? 

Why? 
133 — How much pressure should be carried in the brake pipe when using the High 

Speed brake? How much in the main reservoir? 
134 — 'How do you change the standard brake pressures to the higher pressures 

with the New York brake valve? How with the Westinghouse ? 
135 — At what pressure does the auxiliary reservoir and brake cylinder equalize, 

when the brakes are applied in an emergency, using 110 pounds brake pipe pres- 
sure? 
136 — What reduces this to 60 pounds, a safe pressure for slow speeds ? 
137 — How should all stops with the High Speed brake be made? 
138— If an engine not equipped with the High Speed brake was to take a train so 

equipped, what should be done before cutting off the High Speed equipped 

engine? 
139 — If on making a service application, with the High Speed brake, undesired quick 

action occurs, what would you do? 
140 — If a switch engine not equipped with the High Speed brake, was to handle a 

High Speed train, what should be done? 
141 — How should a water stop be made with a freight train? 
142 — If stopped on a grade would you depend on the air brakes to hold the train 

any length of time? Why? 
143 — How should an air brake freight train be handled on descending grades? 
144 — When you make the first reduction, after going over the top of a hill, if the 

brakes do not seem to hold properly, what should you do? 
145 — How heavy a reduction should be made for a first one, on a heavy grade, with 

a train of 20 to 40 cars ? With 40 to 60 cars ? 
146 — What should be waited for after the first reduction is made? 
147 — How heavy should the next reduction be? 
148 — If black hand on gauge kept falling due to the brake pipe leakage and the train 

did not slow up, what should you do? 
149 — What do you understand causes trains to get away on descending grades, 

when being handled with air brakes? 
150 — If engine is equipped with straight air brake, how would you operate it on 

descending grades ? How long would you keep it applied ? 
151 — Suppose the driving wheel tires were overheating when using the automatic 

brake, what would you do? 
152 — How should all passenger train stops be made with 10 or more cars? 
153 — With a passenger train of 10 cars or more, should the brakes be released, 

if going at a speed of 8 miles per hour or less? Why? 
154 — In steadying a passenger train around a curve, where should the brakes be ap- 
plied? Where should they be released? 
155 — When handling a long freight train, how should an application be made? 
156 — If brakes are released when the train is moving, what precaution must be 

taken ? 
157 — Should the brake valve handle ever be moved to release or running position 

before the brake pipe exhaust stops blowing? Why? 
158— If you knew that you were sliding wheels when making a stop, what would 

you do? How would you prevent it at the next stop? 
159— If you had made a full application and were running by, should sand be used? 

What if an emergency arose? 
160 — In case of an emergency, how should the brake valve be handled? 
161— If a partial application had been made and an emergency arose would you go 

directly to the emergency position? 
162— In case the brakes are applied suddenly from the train, what would you do? 

Why? 
163 — In case a train breaks in two between air break cars, what would you do? 

Why not try to pull away? 
164 — if the rear brakes fail to release readily, what is the best way to release them? 
165 — How would you release the brakes on a freight train, when running, if engine 

was equipped with a straight air brake? 
166— What is the standard piston travel on engines and cars ? 



198 APPENDIX H 

167 — Explain in a general way, how the Westinghouse E. T. locomotive brake 
equipment should be operated in applying and releasing the brakes? 

168 — What are the essential parts of this equipment? 

169 — Can the engine brakes be released and the train brakes held applied? How? 

170 — When double heading can the brakes on the second engine be operated inde- 
pendently of all the other brakes in the train? 

171 — In double heading, if the second engine has the E. T. equipment, where should 
the handles of both brake valves be carried? 

172 — How many positions has the Westinghouse H 6 brake valve? 

173 — Describe the purpose of the different positions? 

174 — As there are no auxiliary reservoirs used on an engine having this equipment, 
where is the air pressure taken from to move the pistons to apply the brakes? 

175 — What are the plugs for, in the caps of both brake valves? 

176 — With the E. T. equipment, how is the change made from low to high pressure? 

177 — Why are stop cocks located in the pipes leading to the brake cylinders? 

178 — Why is the independent brake valve necessary? 

179 — When is it necessary to use the release position of the independent brake 
valve, to release the engine brakes? 

180 — -What pressures do the two duplex air gauges used with this equipment indi- 
cate? 



APPENDIX I 
MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIRE- 
MEN AND ENGINEMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE OF 
UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 

In connection with the scarcity of firemen and the application of the 
Draft Law it appeared that railroad employers were not requesting ex- 
emption of locomotive firemen, although at the same time claiming 
that it was necessary to employ negroes in the Northern and Western 
States in order to move the traffic, as white men could not_be secured. 

On some of the railroads from which came complaints that locomo- 
tive firemen necessary to move the trains can not be employed, a large 
number of such firemen have either volunteered or have been drafted 
into the military service of the United States. 

In addition to other inquiries, a circular letter, addressed to the offi- 
cer having charge of the membership register, was sent out on Decem- 
ber 7th, 1917, to 763 points in the United States. The files were closed 
on January, 25th, 1918, at which time 671 replies had been received, 
leaving 92 points to be heard from. 

The table below shows the number of men, members of the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, who have enlisted or vol- 
unteered for the War, the railroad on which employed and their occupa- 
tion. Due consideration must be given to the fact that 92 points, 
many located in territory where enlistments of railway employees was 
general, have not been reported. 

SUMMARY SHOWING NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE 
FIREMEN AND ENGINEMEN WHO HAVE ENTERED THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE 
UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 

United States. (92 lodges yet to report.) 



Class of serivce. 


Drafted. 


Volunteeied. 


Total. 




1684 
19 
151 
105 


1673 
20 
133 
159 


3357 
39 
284 
264 












1959 


1985 

521 

8 

107 

48 


3944 

521 

8 

107 

48 


Canada. (23 lodges yet to report.) 






















684 
2669 


684 
4628 




1959 





199 



200 



APPENDIX I 



NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGIXEMFX WHO HAVE BEEN DRAFTED AND WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE 
MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen. 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Barberton Belt 










. 




1 














3 












3 
1 
2 

5 
39 
90 


\ L. <. I iiiaiana Midland 


1 










• vrka .a >. - . . 


1 

S 

23 
32 




















Af h' T kY fe S-inta Fe (Coast) 


15 
45 








1 
9 








4 


Atlanta. Birmingham & Atlantic 


















2 

60 

S 

4 

14 


' 23 

4 
2 


2 








4 

100 

9 

7 

17 






10 


7 














1 












3 






















































17 
35 


38 

143 
9 








4 


184 
9 






2 


































13 
4 


3 
3 

2 










16 

7 
5 
























3 






















2 


2 






2 


1 


7 










2 

8 
2 


4 








1 


7 
23 












14 








1 




















Chesapeake & Ohio 


29 
8 
8 

62 

2 
40 

11 


14 
3 
2 

93 










43 

14 

169 

2 
88 
29 
















3 
8 


1 
6 
















43 
18 






3 


2 




















2 


5 










7 














23 
31 


33 
56 




2 


5 
2 


3 
4 


66 
93 












28 














Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 


























































2 

2 
3 










1 
2 

44 
4 

15 












Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis. . . . 
Coal & Coke 


25 






7 


1 


1 

1 






11 















MEMBERS OF B. OF L. F. & E. IN MILITARY SERVICE 



201 



NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGINEMEN WHO HAVE BEEN DRAFTED AND WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE 
MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen. 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 




1 
2 












2 
9 
2 
2 

1 

1 

















3 

2 








5 












2 












1 












1 






































































7 


9 


1 




2 




19 






25 

27 

5 


31 
14 








1 
1 


57 
45 

5 


2 
1 

2 
8 

10 
2 

4 
19 
19 

74 


Denver & Rio Grande 




1 


2 






























2 

1 

2 

5 






































2 








1 












8 
2 

3 








2 














1 
15 
10 

22 














2 




2 




9 

45 


Erie 


1 




5 


1 










1 








1 
2 

1 




2 
1 
1 






















Ft. Worth Belt 












Ft. Smith & Western 














6 


2 




1 


1 




10 

































6 



2 
3 
40 



98 

8 

2 
4 

2 
3 

3 

1 
81 
1 

15 


















2 














3 
21 












15 






2 


2 






















46 


48 






2 


2 










6 


2 
2 




















Gulf, Mobile & Northern 


4 
2 
























i 






i 












3 














i 












31 












46 






i 


3 






















5 


10 





















202 



APPENDIX I 



N'UMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGIXEMEX WHO HAVE BEEN DRAFTED AND WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE 
MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 

















1 
4 

3 

6 

2 
2 




1 
4 






































1 


2 

3 

1 


















2 














1 






Lake Champlain & Moriah 










1 


3 










4 


Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion 










Lake Superior & Ishpeming 

















1 

2 
50 

10 

2 

19 





3 

39 








2 
52 

2 
20 

31 
5 


1 

26 
6 

55 
6 
2 


Marquette & Southeastern 














Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer 
















1 














1 










Lehigh & New England 


2 
19 

10 












24 


1 


3 


2 


1 


Little River 


Long Island 












Lorain, Ashland & Southern 








1 


1 


Lop Angeles & Salt Lake 


11 


8 






Louisiana & Arkansas 










Louisiana & Pacific 












Lake Charles & Northern 














Louisville & Jeffersonville Brg. Co 














Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis 




2 








1 


Macon, Dublin & Savannah 










Maine Central 


I 


37 








1 


Manistee & Northeastern 








Manitou & Pike's Peak 












Marshall & East Texas 














Maryland & Pennsylvania. . . . 














Maryland, Delaware & Virginia. . . 














McCloud River 














McKeesport Connecting 










1 




Memphis, Dallas & Gulf 


2 

20 

1 

6 

8 








Mercer Valley 












Michigan Central 


14 
12 

21 

5 






6 


12 


Midland Valley 






Minneapolis & St. Louis 






1 




Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie 

Minnesota & International 












Minnesota Transfer 












Mississippi River & Bonne Terre 


1 












Missouri & North Arkansas 


9 

1 
24 
3 










Missouri, Kansas & Texas 


15 

5 
27 
3 
2 








2 


Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf 








Missouri Pacific-Iron Mountain Svstem 
Mobile & Ohio. .. 






3 


1 






Southern Ry. in Mississippi 









































6 
6 
1 


Barre & Chelsea . . . 




























Nashville. Chattanooga & St. Louis. . . 
Nevada Northern. . . . 


3 

1 


3 
3 
















2 


New Jersey & New York 




1 




New Orleans Great Northern 












New York Central (East) 


56 


50 


1 




......| 


6 


114 





MEMBERS OF B. OF L. F. & E. IN MILITARY SERVICE 



203 



NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGINEMEN WHO HAVE BEEN DRAFTED AND WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE 
MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen. 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 




38 
3 
2 
3 

24 

2 
4 
4 


12 

2 
5 
8 
41 






4 




54 
6 
7 
14 
67 

2 
4 
5 
2 
51 


60 

6 





















1 


2 






1 




New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk 












1 
2 
24 






















23 




1 


2 


1 






25 


33 








2 












2 


4 




















































15 
4 
1 


27 
16 








3 


45 
21 

1 

270 
127 

25 
2 

20 
34 
28 
8 



4 


1 


Oregon- Washington R. R. & Navigation Co ... . 
Pacific Coast R. R. (Washington) 






1 






1 

77 
46 
13 
2 

13 

7 
4 
4 










Pennsylvania (East) 

Pennsylvania (West) 


160 

71 


2 


1 


23 
9 


7 
















6 
22 
20 

2 




1 








1 

4 
1 


4 










1 




















1 


2 






1 












1 




























1 










3 

1 


2 



28 


Rutland 


3 












1 






















St. Joseph & Grand Island 


1 


1 










St. Joseph Belt 















16 






1 


2 










4 


10 

2 

6 










14 

2 

10 














3 




1 






St. Paul Bridge & Terminal 


































San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf 
















1 

2 

11 


5 
1 
11 
67 
69 






1 
1 












1 






















5 


2 






4 












1 

1 

7 

34 

45 


1 


3 








South Buffalo 










4 
19 
20 














2 


9 

1 


3 
3 











204 



APPENDIX I 



NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGINEMEN WHO HAVE BEEN DRAFTED AND WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE 
MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 


Drf. 


Vol. 






















3 

6 










3 

12 

1 




4 








2 


























1 










1 
































S 

24 

2 
2 


3 
9 










8 
33 

2 
2 

1 


s 

2 

1 
1 






































1 
1 


































Toledo & Ohio Central 


4 
2 

1 








1 
























Tooele Valley 




































Ulster & Delaware 
































25 


31 
2 


1 




1 


2 


60 
3 




2 
2 
9 

33 


7 
9 

5 




Union Railway of Memphis 








Union Stock Yards 


















1 








1 




2 

5 

25 








Virginian 


3 

8 






1 










Wabash , Chester & Western 










Washington Terminal Co 














Western Maryland 


5 
4 

3 


1 
5 

1 


1 






















1 




Wheeling Terminal 






Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 



















Zanesville & Western 






























Total all railroads in United States 


1684 


1673 


19 


20 


151 


133 


3680 



MEMBERS OF B. OF L. F. & E. IN MILITARY SERVICE 



205 



NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND 
ENGINEMEN WHO HAVE VOLUNTARILY ENTERED THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE 
DOMINION OF CANADA, BY RAILROADS. 



Name of railroad. 


Firemen. 


Hostlers. 


Engineers. 


Total. 




2 






2 










15 
103 
233 

2 

7 




11 
10 
71 


26 
117 
307 

2 

7 


Canadian Northern 


4 
3 




Dominion Atlantic Ry. & S. S. Co 






















121 

10 
4 
9 

4 
2 

1 

6 




13 


134 

11 

4 
10 

1 



4 
2 
1 

6 












1 




Minneapolis & St. Louis 








Ottawa & New York 








1 






































Total all railroads in Canada 


521 


8 


107 


636 



APPENDIX J. 

SITUATION ON RAILROADS THAT EMPLOY 
NEGRO FIREMEN. 

It is and always has been the policy of the Brotherhood of Locomo- 
tive Firemen and Enginemen in negotiating wages and working condi- 
tions for locomotive firemen and hostlers to apply settlements to such 
employes as a class, whether they be members of the organization or not 
and regardless of color, but on roads where negro firemen are em- 
ployed we have not been successful in having the settlements applied to 
this class of labor because of the opposition on the part of operating 
officials. 

In order that this Commission may have knowledge of the situation 
on roads that employ negro firemen we desire to submit for your informa- 
tion comparative rates on a few of the leading roads in the Southeastern 
Territory showing differentials in rates of pay which we hold should not 
exist because they are discriminatory between men who are required to 
perform the same service and should not be permitted to continue. 



COMPARATIVE RATES OF PAY PER DAY BETWEEN WHITE AND 

COLORED FIREMEN ON CERTAIN RAILROADS IN THE 

SOUTHEASTERN TERRITORY, BASED UPON 100 MILES. 

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad: White firemen receive 53 per cent of 
Engineers' rates ; colored firemen receive 43 per cent of Engineers' low- 
est rate for different classes of service. 

Example : An engineer receiving $4.25 for 100 miles, the 
white firemen would be paid $2.25, while the colored firemen 
would receive $1.82. 

Central of Georgia Railway: White firemen receive 55 per cent of 
Engineers' rates ; colored firemen receive 40 per cent of Engineers' rates. 

Example: An engineer receiving $4.25 for 100 miles, the 
white firemen would be paid $2.33, while the colored firemen 
would receive $1.70. 

Seaboard Air Line Railway: White firemen receive 50 per cent of 
Engineers' rates; colored firemen receive 40 per cent of Engineers' rates. 
Example: An Engineer receiving $4.25 for 100 miles, the 
white firemen would be paid $2.12, while the colored firemen 
would receive $1.70. 

On the three roads above mentioned there are no agreements between 
the companies and the representatives of the firemen, the companies 
fixing the rates to suit themselves. 

Southern Railway System: On the Southern Railway the rates of pay 
206 



EMPLOYMENT OF NEGRO FIREMEN 207 

for firemen, both white and colored, are fixed through negotiations be- 
tween the company and the representatives of the firemen, through their 
organization, and are as follows : 

Passenger Service: White firemen, $2.50 and $2.60, colored 
firemen, $2.00 and $2.10; according to class of engine. 

Freight Service: White firemen, $3.10 and $3.25, colored 
firemen, $2.45 and $2.60. 

"Mikado" type engine, white firemen, $3.50; colored firemen, 
$2.65. 

"Mallet" type engine, white firemen, $4.25 ; colored firemen, 
$2.90. 

The foregoing represents the conditions on practically every railroad 
in the Southeastern Territory that employs both classes of labor, that 
is, "white" and "negro" firemen. 

The object of employing negro firemen can be assigned to several 
reasons : 

(1) To prevent a complete and effective organization in the ranks 
of white firemen in order to defeat any effective movement to secure 
standard rates of pay or conditions of employment for that class of 
service. Such condition would naturally enable the companies to dictate 
the rates of pay for firemen without any serious opposition from the 
firemen. 

(2) When negro labor is employed and such employes are injured 
or killed in the performance of their duties, the companies are able to 
adjust their claims for personal injury either with them or with their 
dependents for a very small fee, if anything at all, whereas, on the other 
hand, where white firemen are employed and are either killed or injured 
the companies must pay liberally for such death or injury, or such em- 
ployes endeavor to secure justice through the courts. 

(3) It will be seen by the comparative rates heretofore given that 
the negro firemen, as a rule, are paid wages from 20 to 32 per cent less 
than are paid white firemen for performing the same service. 

Following the arbitration between certain Western Railroads and 
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen in 1910 there 
was one road that absolutely refused to pay to the negro firemen the 
benefits of the Award notwithstanding no question was raised concerning 
this matter either prior to or during arbitration proceedings. This 
arbitration was held under Act of Congress 1898, known as the Erdman 
Law. 

In the arbitration between ninety-eight Western Railroads and the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Locomo- 
tive Firemen and Enginemen, 1914-1915, conducted under the provisions 
of the Act of Congress approved July 15, 1913, known as the "Newlands 
Law," certain railroads declined to apply the provisions of the Award 
to negro firemen. 

After the Award became effective many questions arose over its 
proper application and the Board of Arbitration was reconvened during 
the month of August, 1915, and the following question was submitted 
to the Board, "Did the Award apply to all firemen regardless of color?" 



208 APPENDIX J 

The minutes of this meeting" show three members held that the Award 
applied to all firemen regardless of color; two members held that the 
.Award did not apply to negro firemen, and one member of the Board 
declined to vote. The Chairman, therefore, ruled that because a majority 
not having voted in the affirmative the proposition was denied. It will 
be understood that this arbitration was held under an Act of Congress, 
passed upon by a Federal Board, and by the action of the Board negro 
firemen on certain lines were denied the benefits of the Award. 

In the Eight Hour Movement involving the four transportation organi- 
zations and approximately two hundred railroads represented by the 
National Conference Committee of Railways practically every road par- 
ticipating that employs negro firemen "excluded" such firemen in their 
authorization to the National Conference Committee of Railways, and 
while it has been stated that some of the roads, at least, have applied 
the Adamson Law to negro firemen yet we have not been advised officially 
as to whether or not this is a fact. Tn our opinion the only proof is 
to consult the pay rolls of railroads that employ negro firemen. 



APPENDIX K. 



TOTAL FREIGHT REVENUE 1911-1916. 

The remarkable gains made in the freight revenues of the Railroads 
since the beginning of the European war in 1914 is set forth in the com- 
parative statement below. It shows the amount of freight revenue by 
Railroads and years 1911-1916, and the increase in freight revenue in 
1916 over 1911 and 1914. 

TOTAL FREIGHT REVENUE, BY RAILROADS, 1911-1916, AND INCREASE 
1916 OVER 1911 AND 1914. 



Dec. 31, 
1916 



Amount of increase. 



1916 
over 
1911 



1916 
over 
1914 



Per cent of 
increase. 



1916 
over 
1911 



1916 
over 
1914 



Eastern District. 
Pennsylvania R. R. 
Baltimore & Ohio. . . 
New York, N. H. i 

Hartford 

Pennsylvania Co. . . 

Erie R. R 

Philadelphia & Reading 

Boston & Maine 

Delaware, Lack. & Wn 

Lehigh Valley 

Pitts., Cin., Chi. & St 

Louis 

C. C. C. & St. L 

Michigan Central 

Wabash 

Central R. P. of N. J. . 
Delaware & Hudson . . . 
Phila., Bait. & Wash. . . 
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 
Pere Marquette .... 
Chicago & E. 111.... 
New York, Chi. & St. L. 



Southern Disitrict. 



Southern Ry 

Illinois Central R. R... 
Louisville & Nashville. . 
Norfolk & Western. . . . 
Chesapeake & O hio. . . . 

Atlantic Coast Line 

Seaboard Air Line 

Yazoo & Miss. Vy 

Nashville, Chatt. & St 

Louis 

Central of Ga 

Mobile & Ohio 

Cin., N. O. & Tex. Pac. 

Virginian 

Florida East Coast. . . 
Alabama Gt. Southern 

Norfolk Southern 

New Orleans & Nor. E 
Rich., Fred. & Potomac 

Georgia R. R 

Atlanta, Birm. & At 

lantic 



113,725,012 
67,629,937 

30,329,092 
38,378,809 
35,914,587 
35,380,947 
25,891,481 
26,067,756 
31,842,825 

26,481,033 
19,972,596 
19,234,55 
20,160,877 
18,742,450 
17,422,502 
9,547,342 
13,670,998 
10,765,545 
9,421,509 
9,154,128 



39,498,964 
40,682,197 
39,066,034 
30,115,483 
24,395,298 
21,587,362 
14,801,969 
7,377,036 

8,707,680 

8,308,919 

8,151,293 

7,043,373 

3,307,017 

2,150,1 

2,954,793 

1,997,603 

2,662,061 

1,232,341 

2,127,487 

2,020,779 



128,255,509 
75,784,287 

32,476,373 
44,645,619 
38,527,944 
37,889,771 
27,866,098 
28,634.755 
33,519!367 

28,568,626 
22,611,555 
21,724,654 
20,199,493 
20,812,66 
19,123,445 
10,132,245 
15,188,097 
11,044,099 
11,324,292 
9,709,: 



45,077,048 
43,871,272 
42,868,078 
38,038,622 
28,866,516 
24,825,313 
17,307,034 
8,827,297 

8,781,321 
9,169,090 
10,708,321 
8,303,851 
5,790,645 
2,593,683 
3,662,745 
2,729,272 
3,048,400 
1,589,470 
2,165,985 

2,424,184 



164,206,793 
91,891,921 

38,727,425 

56,182,956 

50,007,586 

48,364,32 

33,640,587 

37,705,109 

39,809,301 

35,515,247 
32,536,544 
29,810,576 
27,609,741 
25,442,105 
22,003,843 
13,082,012 
20,490,294 
16,110,121 
12,526,247 
13,372,737 



50,976,995 

53,325,517 

47,727,975 

51,114, 

39,888.932 

25,184,952 

18,211,895 

11,388,995 

9,562,272 
8,958,377 
10,175,723 
9,225,501 
7,469,622 
3,929,502 
4,248,982 
3,463,158 
2,986,299 
2,047,270 
2,333,774 

2,515,723 



50,481,781 
24,261,984 

8,398,333 
17,804,147 
14,092,999 
12,983,374 

7,749,106 
11,637,353 

7,966,476 

9,034,214 
12,563,948 
10,576,025 
7,448,864 
6,699,655 
4,581,341 
3,534,670 
6,819,296 
5,344,576 
3,104,738 
4,218,609 



11,478,031 
12,643,320 
8,661,941 
20,998,703 
15,493,634 
3,597,590 
3,409,926 
4,011,959 

854,592 

649,458 

2,024,430 

2,182,128 

4,162,605 

1,779,454 

1,294,189 

1,465,555 

324,238 

814,929 

206,287 

494,944 



35,951,284 
16,107,634 

6,251,052 
11,537,337 
11,479,642 
10,474,550 
5,774,489 
9,070,354 
6,289,934 

6,946,621 
9,924,989 
8,085,922 
7,410,248 
4,629,443 
2,880,398 
2,949,767 
5,302,197 
5,066,022 
1,201,955 
3,662,853 



5,899,947 
9,454,245 
4,859,897 
13,075,564 
11.022,416 
359,639 
904,861 
2,561,698 

780,951 
1210,713 
1532,598 
921,650 
1,678,977 
1,335,819 
586,237 
733.886 
'62,101 
457,800 
167,789 

91.539 



27.7 
46.4 
39.2 
36.7 
29.9 
44.6 
25.0 

34.1 
62.9 
55.0 
36.9 
35.7 
26.3 
37.0 
49.9 
49.6 
33.0 
46.1 



29.1 
31.1 
22.2 
69.7 
63.5 
16.7 
23.0 
54.4 

9.8 
7.8 
24.8 
31.0 
125.9 
82.8 
43.8 
73.4 
12.2 
66.1 
9.7 

24.5 



19.2 
25.8 
29.8 
27.6 
20.7 
31.7 
18.8 

24.3 
43.9 
37.2 
36.7 
22.2 
15.1 
29.1 
34.9 
45.9 
10.6 
37.7 



13.1 
21.5 
11.3 
34.4 
38.2 
1.4 
5.2 
29.0 

8.9 
J 2.3 
15.0 
11.1 
29.0 
51.5 
16.0 
26.9 
i2.0 
28.8 
7.7 

| 3.8 



Decrease 



209 



210 APPENDIX K 

TOTAL FREIGHT REVENUE. BY RAILROADS, 1911-1916, AND INCREASE 
OVER 1911 AND 1914.— Concluded. 











Amount of increase. 


Per cent of 














increase. 








1916 


1916 


1916 


1916 




1911 


1914 


Dec. 31, 


over 


over 


over 


over 








1916 


1911 


1914 


1911 


1914 


Western District. 
















Southern Pacific Co. . . . 


52,829,297 


55,182,071 


73,710,072 


20,880,775 


18,528,001 


39.5 


33.6 


Atchison, Topeka & S. 
















Fe 


59,034,126 


61,089,211 


85,605.012 


26,570,886 


24,515,801 


45.0 


40.1 


Chi., Mil. & St. Paul . 


44,776,454 


65,266,420 


79,648,513 


34,872,059 


14,382,093 


77.9 


22.0 


Chi., Burl. & Quincy . . 


58,033,243 


62,799,188 


77,310,516 


19,277,273 


14,511,328 


33.2 


23.1 


Chicago & No. Western 


49,024,958 


53,989,475 


65,380,165 


16,355,207 


11,390,690 


33.4 


21.1 


Great Northern Ry. . . . 


43.379,174 


55,025,016 


61,053,293 


17,674,119 


6,028,277 


40.7 


11.0 


Northern Pacific 


43,332,918 


48,058,812 


59,543,090 


16,210,172 


11,484,278 


37.4 


23.9 


Chi., R. I. & Pac 


41,009,996 


42,348,182 


52,665,180 


11,655,184 


10,316,998 


28.4 


24.4 


Union Pacific 


35,782,507 


35,826,351 


51,277,212 


15,494,705 


15,450,861 


43.3 


43.1 


St Louis & San F 


26,580,869 


28,654,454 


35,137,170 


8,556,301 


6,482,716 


32.2 


22.6 


Minn., St. P.&S.S. Me. 


15,157,876 


20,372,247 


25,403,918 


10,246,042 


5,031,671 


67.6 


24.7 


St. L., Iron Mt. & S. . . 


20,382,287 


24,504,603 


26,877,744 


6,495,457 


2,373,141 


31.9 


9.7 


Missouri Pacific 


17,246.926 


19,490,425 


25,744,700 


8,497,774 


6,254,275 


49.3 


32.1 


Oregon Short Line 


13,747,948 


15,557,631 


20,026,570 


6,278,622 


4,468,939 


45.7 


28.7 


Denver & Rio Grande. . 


17,241,018 


17,058,080 


19,638,456 


2,397,438 


2,580.376 


13.9 


15.1 


Chi., St. P., Minn. & O. 


10,563,204 


11,427,563 


13,837,306 


3,274,102 


2,409,743 


31.0 


21.1 


Texas & Pacific 


10,668,981 


12,712,344 


14,353,830 


3,684.849 


1,641,486 


34.5 


12.9 


Chicago & Alton 


9,215,172 


8,882,611 


12,288,204 


3,073,032 


3,405,593 


33.3 


38.3 









APPENDIX L. 

FREIGHT TRAFFIC HANDLED. 

The following table shows the increase in the total tons of freight 
carried one mile by the leading Railroads of the country in 1916, the 
latest year for which statistics are available, as compared with 1911. 



June 30, 1911 



June 30, 1914. 



Dec. 31, 1916. 



Increase, 
1916 over 1911 



Amount. Per 

cent. 



Eastern District. 

Pennsylvania R. R 

Baltimore & Ohio R. R 

New York, New Haven & 

Hartford 

Pennsylvania Co 

Erie R. R 

Philadelphia & Reading Ry. 
Delaware, Lackawanna & 

Western 

Lehigh Valley R. R 

Pittsburgh, Cin., Chi. & St. 

Louis 

Cleveland, Cin., Chi. & St. 

Louis 

Michigan Central 

Wabash Ry. « 

Central R. R. Co. of New 

Jersey 

Delaware & Hudson Co ... . 

Phila., Bait. & Wash 

Pittsburgh & Lake E. R. R. 
Pere Marquette R. R. (Rec.) 
Chicago & Eastern Illinois. . 
N. Y., Chi. &St. L 

Southern District. 

Southern Ry. Co 

Illinois Central R. R 

Louisville & Nashville R. R. 

Norfolk & Western Ry. Co . . 

Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co . 

Atlantic Coast Line R. R. 
Co 

Seaboard Air Line Ry 

Yazoo & Miss. Valley R. R . 

Nashville, Chatt. & St. L. 
Ry 

Central of Georgia Ry 

Mobile & Ohio R. R. Co . . . 

Cin., N. O. & Tex. Pac. Ry. 

Virginian Ry 

Florida East Coast 

Alabama, Great Southern R. 
R. Co 

Norfolk Southern R. R. Co. 

New Orleans & Northeastern 
R. R. Co 

Richmond, Fredericksburg 
& Potomac R. R. Co 

Georgia R. R. (Lessee Or- 
ganization)- 

Atlanta, Birmingham & At- 
lantic R. R 



19,594,305,019 
11,703,539,445 

2,181,577,124 
6,565,536,802 
5,871,078,999 
4,664,888,925 

3,642,161,113 
4,884,206,197 



3,626,562,172 
3,078,619,236 
3,343,249,320 

2,207,907,503 
2,529,694,837 
1,120,138,908 
1,819,880,675 
21,858,421,382 
1,950,995,837 
1,806,370,349 



4,088,496,793 
6,682,827,558 
5,095,052,668 
6.797,365,271 
5,852,506,320 

1,776,418,010 
1,275,651,651 
1,008,363,903 

857,931,472 
758,229,638 
1,331,545,001 
931,626,139 
916,104,287 
121,013,132 

461,309,024 
123,282,063 



207,943,537 
234,466,453 



22,174,791,606 
13,425,552,328 

2,294,783,942 
7,782,644,066 
6,408,667,050 
5,505,255,922 

4,081,165,030 

5,218,751,555 



4,148,299,045 
3,213,287,196 
3,321,617,622 

2,372,954,590 
2,870,361,234 
1,220,630,141 
2,022,080,634 
n.808,504,819 
32,212,684,398 
1,884,451,401 



4,584,338,858 
7,789,173,596 
5,511,812,374 
9,155,506,727 
7,064,650,082 

2,040,571,520 
1,575,008,722 
3,171,363,960 

833,220,419 

847,005,494 

1,598,623,994 

1,102,522,131 

1,694,615,413 

149,520,996 

575,047,141 
179,773,601 

450,518,667 



211,260,865 
364,788,335 



26,947,627,856 
16,199,762,221 

2,567,831,016 
9,115,432,361 
8,157,206,356 
6,786,189,196 

5,263,262,974 
6,124,568,602 



5,848,072,312 
4,172,557,226 
4,440 861 488 

2 676,635,601 
3,485,676,060 
1,066,995,700 
2,659,717,363 
2,489,159,328 
2,346,826,154 
2,619,601,073 



5,476,668,552 
9,156,870,760 
6,932,569,129 
12,110,422,936 
10,437,225,643 

2,514,243,295 
1,872,519,125 
1,603,998,968 

949,652,026 

907,370,746 

1,602,598,129 

1,245,278,252 

2,201,891,139 

347,468,358 

672,524,669 
258,899,750 

451,526,319 

225,219,149 

234,708,489 

417,032,709 



7,353,322,837 
4,496,222,776 

386,253,892 
2,549,895,559 
2,286,127,357 
2,121,300,271 

1,621,101,861 
1,240,362,405 



2,221,510,140 
1,093,937,990 
1 097,612,168 

468,728,098 
955,981,223 
753,143,208 
839,836,688 
630,737,946 
395,830,317 
813,230,724 



1,388,171,759 
2,474,043,202 
1,837,516,461 
5,313,057,665 
4,584,719,323 

737,825,285 
596,867,474 
595,635,065 

91,720,554 
149,141,108 
271,053,128 
313,652,113 
1,285,786,852 
226,455,226 

211,215,645 
135,617,687 

51,677,308 

97,383,051 

26,764,952 

182,566,256 



37.5 
38.4 

17.7 
38.8 
38.9 

45.5 

44.5 
25.4 



61.3 
35.5 
32.8 

21.2 
37.8 
?4.7 
46.1 
33.9 
20.3 
45.0 



34..; 
37.0 
36.1 
78.2 

78.3 

41.5 
46.8 
59.1 

10.7 
19.7 
20.4 
33.7 
140.4 
187.1 

45.8 
110.0 

12.9 

76.2 

12.9 

77.9 



For notes see next page. 



211 



212 



APPENDIX L 
FREIGHT TRAFFIC HANDLED— Concluded. 



June 30, 191: 



June 30, 1914. 



Dec. 31, 1916. 



Increase, 


1916 over 


1911. 


Amount. 


Per 




cent. 


3,348,511,145 


82.2 


3,429.356,647 


61.0 


5,423,788,699 


101.9 


3,807,321,320 


53.5 


2,687,256,506 


49.4 


2,660,462,304 


49.7 


2,921,919,767 


60.9 


1,695,776,922 


37.7 


3,526,363,015 


132.7 


1,016,600,257 


39.4 


1,375,591,228 


66.7 


982,894,957 


39.8 


1.457,798,003 


75.8 


1,001,950,140 


68.2 


482,412,792 


34.6 


542,577,143 


46.3 


491,818,863 


47.8 


503,206,624 


33.1 



Western District. 

Southern Pacific Co 

Atchison, Topeka & S. Fe. . 
Chi., Mil. & St. Paul Ry . . . 
Chi., Bur!. & Quincy R. R.. 

C. & N. W. Ry. Co 

Great Northern Ry. Co. . . . 

Northern Pacific Ry 

Chi., R. I. & Pac. Ry 

Union Pacific R. R 

St. L. &S. F. R. R. Co 

Minn., St. Paul. & Sault Ste 

Marie 

St. L., Iron Mt. & Sou. Ry. 

Co 

Missouri Pacific Ry. Co. . . . 
Oregon Short Line R. R. . . . 
Denver & Rio Grande R. R. 

Co 

Chi., St. P., Minn. & Omaha 

Ry Co 

Texas & Pacific Ry. Co 

Chicago & Alton R. R. Co. . 



4,074,395,603 
5,621,044,461 
5,323,534,716 
7,116,005,120 
5,443,696,684 
•5,357,477,880 
4,800,666,026 
4,494,606,619 
2,656,480,790 
2,582,193,116 

2,062,485,487 

2,468,114,656 
1,924,271,023 
1,469,129,870 



1,171,703,024 
1,029,200,819 
1,520,839,146 



4,726,481,407 
5,893,379,432 
8,079,689,505 
8,612,629,607 
6,229,944,171 
56,930,295,709 
65,629,351,427 
4,940,743,852 
3,801.268.223 
2,910,096,677 

2,770,425,699 

3,116,024,051 

2,388,847,441 
1,623,207,093 



1,294,143,291 
1,311,948,794 
1,464,671,657 



7,422,906,748 
9,050,401.108 
10,747,323,415 
10,923,326,440 
8,130,953,190 
8 018,210,184 
7,722,585,793 
6,190,383,541 
6,182,843,805 
3,598,793.373 

3,438,076,715 

3,451,009,613 
3,382,069,026 
2,471,080,010 

1,875,391,676 

1,714,280,167 
1,521,019,682 
2,024,045,770 



1 Includes 245.40 miles in Canada. 

2 Includes 359.67 miles in Canada. 

3 Includes returns for Evansville & 

4 Includes 551.41 miles in Canada. 

5 Includes 655.03 miles in Canada. 

6 Includes 73.03 miles in Canada. 

7 Decrease. 



Indianapolis R. R. Co. 



APPENDIX M. 

TOTAL COMPENSATION OF RAILROAD EMPLOYES 
1911-1916. 

The following table shows the outlays made by leading Railroads for 
all classes of wage-earners for the years 19.11, 1914, and 1916 (the latest 
year for which statistics are available.) 

TOTAL ANNUAL CO MPENSATION OF EMPLOYES, EXCLUDING GENERAL OFFICERS 



Dec. 31, 
1916 



Increase, 


1916 over 


1911. 


Amount 


Per cent. 


$31,631,757 


36.5 


8,977,971 


21.5 


6,453,766 


25.9 


10,976,046 


45.7 


7,760,751 


36.6 


3,645,703 


19.5 


1,807,598 


8.1 


4,840,020 


34.5 


5,244,251 


35.4 


3,836,174 


20.7 


4,670,469 


34.3 


4,003,416 


29.4 


2,725,609 


23.5 


3,121,034 


33.4 


3,201,657 


42.0 


2,075,045 


29.2 


2,004,622 


32.5 


1,131,462 


14.9 


2,482,499 


48.9 


1,073,657 


20.5 



Eastern District. 

Pennsylvania R. R 

Baltimore & Ohio R. R 

New York, New Haven & Hartford 

Pennsylvania Co 

Erie R. R 

Philadelphia & Reading Ry , 

Boston & Maine 

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. . 

Lehigh Valley R. R 

Pitts., Cin., Chi. & St. L 

Cleveland, Cin., Chi. & St. L 

Michigan Central 

Wabash Ry 

Central R. R. Co. of New Jersey . . . 

Delaware & Hudson Co 

Phila., Bait. & Wash 

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 

*Pere Marquette Ry 

Chicago & Eastern Illinois 

New York, Chicago & St. Louis 



$86,575,626 
41,724,978 
24,957,146 
23,992,523 
21,175,812 
18,662,742 
22,310,375 
14,021,574 
14,818,271 
18,541,826 
13,607,900 
13,609,714 
11,594,447 
9,357,298 
7,614,392 
7,107,266 
6,176,853 
7,613,890 
5,075,799 
5,241,334 



$100,999,960 
45,771,191 
28,706,771 
28,767,553 
24,553,272 
20,564,153 
23,891,602 
16,562,374 
16,908,848 
20,178,108 
16,434,670 
15,933,629 
12,910,258 
10,957,213 
9,611,245 
7,927,144 
7,560,947 
8,465,441 
7,697,673 
5,696,715 



$118,207,383 
50,702,949 
31,410,912 
34,968,569 
28,936,563 
22,308,445 
24,117,973 
18,861,594 
20,062,522 
22,378,000 
18,278,369 
17,613,130 
14,320,056 
12,478,332 
10,816,049 
9,182,311 
8,181,475 
8,745,352 
7,558,298 
6,314,991 



*Receiver's Report. 





1911 


1914 


Dec. 31, 
1916 


Increase, 
1916 over 1911. 


Amount. 


Per cent. 


Southern District. 


$23,418,168 
28,761,960 
22,157,355 
14,914,653 
11,976,106 
11,256,439 
7,899,834 
4,015,465 
5,765,869 
5,196,362 
4,557,475 
3,473,905 
1,596,331 
1,590,307 
1,500,617 
1,012,032 
1,641,842 
915,580 
1,460,116 
1,408,496 


$28,961,181 
33,444,556 
28,765,389 
19,855,033 
15,139,007 
14,333,327 
9,684,464 
4,892,331 
6,611,689 
6,161,824 
5,923,185 
4,658,530 
2,075,801 
1,964,318 
1,909,305 
1,475,489 
2,043,115 
1,180,274 
1,663,016 
1,643,921 


$30,048,262 
34,486,721 
26,930,580 
21,346,034 
18,382,797 
13,484,049 
10,138,635 
4,446,970 
6,531,562 
5,543,161 
5,081,930 
4,210,762 
2,367,531 
2,481,782 
1,650,312 
1,872,596 
1,907,932 
1,258,716 
1,476,504 
1,472,313 


$6,630,094 

5,724,761 

4,773,225 

6,431,381 

6,406,691 

2,227,610 

2,238,801 

431,505 

765,693 

346,799 

524,455 

736,857 

771,200 

891,475 

149,695 

860,564 

266,090 

343,136 

16,388 

63,817 


28.3 
19.9 
21.5 
43.1 
53.5 
19.8 
28.3 
10.7 
13.3 
6.7 
11.5 
21.2 
48.3 
56.1 
10. 
85.0 
16.2 
37.5 

4^5 














Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. . . 
Nashville, Chatt. & St. L. Ry 




Cin., N. O. & Tex. Pac. Ry 




Alabama Great Southern R. R. Co.. 

Norfolk Southern R. R. Co 

New Orleans & Northeastern 

Rich., Fred. & Potomac R. R 


Atlanta, Birm. & Atlantic R. R . . . . 



213 



214 



APPENDIX^! 



TOTAL ANNUAL COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYES. EXCLUDING GENERAL 
OFFICERS— Concluded 





1911 


1914 


Dec. 31, 
1916 


Incerase, 
1916 over 1911. 


Amount. 


Per cent. 


Western District. 


$38,659,349 
34,129,053 
30.942,724 
34 7 79.972 
32,317,761 
22,248,934 
23,606.141 
27,397,622 
17,598,507 
16,369,193 
8,887,665 
11,644.064 
13,815,043 
6,678 554 
10,324,321 
6.304,155 
7,240,921 
6.054,573 


S4 1,1 96, 491 
35.200,675 
48,444,642 
36,088,064 
36,057,035 
26,886,587 
26.450,946 
28,872,968 
17,552,961 
*9 18, 66 1.926 
10,779,769 
12,533,063 
13,238,119 
8,203,818 
10,419,563 
7,237,358 
8.257,399 
7,150.292 


$48,558,209 
42,963,011 
48,391,374 

39,643.006 
40.322,391 
30,149,205 
27,407,641 
*31, 210,244 
21.555,351 
* 17,504,806 
11.392,220 
14,373,873 
15,749,334 
7,846,418 
9,159,029 
7,682,867 
8,323,824 
7,105,108 


$ 9,898,860 
8,833,958 

17,448,650 
4.863,034 
8,004.630 
7,900,271 
3,801,500 
.?.K12.622 
3,956.844 
1,135,613 
2,504,555 
2,729,809 
1,934,291 
1,167,864 

M, 165. 292 
t ,378,712 
1.082,903 
1,050.535 


25 6 
25.9 
56 4 
14.0 
24.8 
35.5 
16.1 
13.9 
22.5 
6.9 
28.2 
23.4 
14.0 
17.5 
'11.3 
21.9 
15.0 
17.4 


Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. . . . 

Chicago, Burlington K: Quincy 

Chicago & Northwestern Ry 

Great Northern Ry. Co 


Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry.. 


St. Louis & San Francisco R. R . . . 
Minn., St. Paul & S. Ste Marie Ry. . 
St. !.., Iron Mt. & Southern Ry. . . . 






Chi., St. Paul, Minn. & Omaha 

Texas & Pacific 





♦Receiver's Report. 
1 Decrease 



APPENDIXf L N 

RATES OF PAY OF MECHANICS ON RAILROAD 
AND OTHER WORK. 

The following table, which makes a comparison of the hourly rates 
of pay of mechanics employed by the Railroads and outside shops. 
It shows with some exceptions in the West and South that the railroad 
rates are less than those paid by outside establishments. It is taken 
from Bulletin No. 214 (whole number), United States Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, entitled Union Scale of Wages and Hours of Labor, May 
15, 1916. 

215 



216 



APPENDIX N 
SHEET METAL WORKERS. 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Per 

hours 
(cents) 


Per 
week 

full 
time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 
Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate, 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 
week. 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


Boston, Mass.: 


60.0 
30.0 

50.0 
30.0 

33.3 
38.0 
40.0 
40.0 
42.0 

55.0 
28.5 
30.0 
27.5 
34.5 
29.3 

62.5 
37.0 
37.0 
37.0 
35.0 
35.0 
38.0 

50.0 
28.0 
31.0 

60.0 
36.0 
37.0 
38.0 
37.5 
37.0 

50.0 
41.0 
39.0 
40.5 
41.0 

52.5 
38.5 
38.0 

50.0 
40.0 

56.3 
40.0 
42.0 

62.5 
44.0 


$26.40 
16.20 

22.00 
16.20 

16.67 
20.52 
21.60 
21.60 
25.20 

24.20 
19.95 
16.20 
14.85 
21.74 
20.48 

27.50 
17.76 
19.94 
22.19 
18.86 
18.90 
20.52 

24.00 
11.20 
12.40 

26.40 
19.44 
19.94 
20.52 
20.25 
19.98 

22.00 
22.14 
21.06 
21.87 
22.14 

25.20 
20.75 
20.48 

24.00 
21.60 

24.75 
19.20 
20.16 

27.50 
21.12 


2 

1^ 

2 

IX 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 


2 

2 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 
IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

2 
IK 

2 
IK 

IK 


8 
9 

'8 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 

10 

8 
10 
9 
9 
9 
10 

8 
8 
9 
10 
9 
9 
9 

8 
8 
8 

8 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 

8 
9 
9 
9 
9 

8 
9 
9 

8 
9 

8 
8 
8 

8 
8 


4 
8 

4 
8 

5 
9 
9 
9 
10 

4 
10 
9 
9 
9 
10 

4 
8 
8 
9 
8 
9 
9 

8 



4 
9 

8 
9 
9 
9 

4 
9 
9 
9 
9 

8 
8 
8 

8 
9 

4 
8 
8 

4 
8 


44 
53 

44 
53 

50 
54 
54 
54 
60 

44 
70 
54 
54 
63 
70 

44 
48 

53 
59 
53 

54 
54 

48 
40 

40 

44 
54 
53 
54 
54 
54 

44 
54 
54 
54 

54 

48 
53 

53 

48 
54 

44 
48 
48 

44 
48 


12 
12 
12 

12 
12 

3 
12 

12 

12 
12 




New Haven, Conn.: 




Atlanta, Ga.: 










Indianapolis, Ind.: 








Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, road F 

Kansas City, Mo.: 


Railroad shops, roads B and D. . . 










Milwaukee, Wis.: 


Railroad shops (car dept.) 

Railroad shops (locomotive dept.) 

St. Louis, Mo.: 












Birmingham, Ala.: 








Railroad shops, roads E and F. . . 
Little Rock, Ark.: 






Memphis, Tenn.: 




Denver, Colo.: 






Salt Lake City, Utah: 







RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 
BLACKSMITHS, METAL TRADES. 



217 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 

hours 
(cents) 



Per 
week 

full 
time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur. 
days. 



Full 

week. 



Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 



Boston, Mass.: 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Pittsburgh, Pa.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Locomotive works 

Hammermen, locomotive works 
Railroad shops 



Charleston, S. C: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops, road A 



Jacksonville, Fla.: 

Railroad shops, road C . 
Heavy fires, locomotive work. 
Light fires, locomotive work . . 

Light fires, car work 

Railroad shops, road D 



Richmond, Va.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Locomotive works 

Hammermen, locomotive works. 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 



Chicago, 111.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 
Hammermen, manufacturing shops 
Outside 



Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C, D & E. . 

Railroad shops, road F 

Hammermen, railroad shops 



Cincinnati, Ohio: 
Railroad shops. 



Indianapolis, Ind.: 

Railroad shops, road B. 
Railroad shops, road C . 



Kansas City, Mo.: 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, first fire, road D.. 
Railroad shops, freight fire, road D 
Railroad shops, road E 

First fire 

Second fire 

Light fire 

Railroad shops, road F 

Railroad shops, road H. 

Frame fire 

Second fire 

Heavy car fire, or engine fire or 
tool fire 

Ordinary fire 



30.5 
30.5 



37.5 
32.5 
80.0 
39.0 



41.7 
42.0 



44.0 
42.0 
36.0 
44.0 



32.5 
36.0 
70.0 
36.9 
41.0 
40.0 



48.0 
46.2 
63.0 
75.0 

42.0 
43.5 
41.0 
42.0 
55.5 



34.5 
35.0 



36.0 
35.0 
35.0 
41.0 
39.0 



$16.47 
16.17 



18.00 
16.25 
40.00 
21.06 



22.50 
20.16 



22.00 
21.00 
18.00 

27.72 



17.88 
18.00 
35.00 
19.90 
22.14 
21.60 



21.12 
22.87 
31.19 
33.00 

22.68 
23.49 
22.14 
22.68 
29.97 



18.63 
18.90 



19.44 
16.80 
18.90 
22.14 
21.06 



IK 



IK 



2 

IK 



2 
2 
2 

IK 

iS 



2 
2 
2 

2 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 



45.0 
43.0 
36.0 
39.0 

44.0 
42.5 

41.5 
34.5 



24.25 
23.17 
19.40 
21.01 

23.76 
22.95 

22.41 
18.63 



IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 



49 Yt 
49K 
44 

54 
54 
54 
54 
54 



218 



APPENDIX N 

BLACKSMITHS, METAL TRADES— Continued. 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Per 

hours 
(cents) 


Per 

week 

full 

time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 

late 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 

week . 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


Milwaukee. Wis.: 


31.5 
30.0 
30.5 
37.5 

44.5 
43.0 
41.5 
39.5 
38.0 
37.0 

44.5 
42.0 
41.5 
41.0 

45.0 

38.5 
36.0 

46.0 
44.0 
43.5 
43.0 
41.0 
39.0 

33.3 
65.0 
41.5 

45.0 
43.0 
40.0 
36.0 

46.5 
42.0 
41.0 
39.0 
39.5 
34.5 


$16.07 
15.30 
15.56 
19.13 

22.70 
21.93 
21.17 
20.15 
19.38 
18.87 

22 70 
21.42 
21.17 
20.91 

22.95 
19.64 
18.36 

23.46 
22.44 
22.19 
21.93 
20.91 
19.89 

18.00 
28.60 
22.36 

24.25 
23.17 
21.55 
19.40 

25.11 
22.68 
22.14 
21.06 
21.33 
18.63 
24.96 
21.60 
22.41 

23.46 
22.44 
21.93 

23.46 
22.44 
21.93 
20.91 
19.38 

21.93 
20.91 
20.40 
19.89 


IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IX 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IX 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 


IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IX 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 


9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 


5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

9 
4 
8 

8 
8 
8 
8 

9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
8 
9 
9 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 


50 
50 
50 
50 

50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 

50 
50 
50 
50 

50 

so 

50 

50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 

54 
44 
53 

53 
53 
53 
53 

54 
54 
54 
54 
54 
54 
48 
54 
54 

50 
50 
50 

50 
50 
50 
50 
50 

50 
50 
50 
50 


5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

....... 

5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

5 
5 
5 

5 


Forging machine, railroad shops. . 
Trip hammermen, railroad shops. 
Hammermen, railroad shops 

Minneapolis, Minn.: 

Railroad shops, road A. 












Railroad shops, road B. 














Railroad shops, road C. 












St. Louis, Mo.: 






Railroad shops, road B. 








Railroad shops, road C. 














52.0 
40.0 
41.5 

46.0 
44.0 
43.0 

46.0 
44.0 
43.0 
41.0 
38.0 

43.0 
41.0 
40.0 
39.0 


Railroad shops, roads F, G and I. 


St. Paul. Minn.: 

Railroad shops, road A. 






Railroad shops, road B. 










Railroad shops, road C. 


Tool fire 









RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 
BLACKSMITHS, METAL TRADES— Continued. 



219 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 

hours 

(cents) 



Per 
week 

full 
time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur 
days. 



Full 
week. 



Birmingham, Ala.: 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, roads D, E and F 



Little Rock, Ark.: 

Railroad shops , road A 

Flue welders 

Car work 

Railroad shops, road B. 

First fire 

Second fire 

Misc. fires or forging machines 

Light fire 

Hammermen 

Bulldozer hammermen .... 



Memphis, Tenn.: 

Manufacturing shops . 
Railroad shops. 

Frame fire 

Engine fire 

Car fire 



New Orleans, La.: 

Manufacturing shops . . 
Railroad shops, road B. 
Railroad shops, road C . 
Railroad shops, road D . 



Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing : 
Railroad shops, road A. 

First or second fire 

General fire 



Railroad shops, road B. 

First fire 

Second fire 

Railroad shops, road D. 

First fire 

Second fire 

Railroad shops, road F. . 



Salt Lake City, Utah: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops. 

First fire 

Second fire 

Third fire 

General fires or bulldozer and 

forging machines 

Bolt makers 



Spokane, Wash.: 
Railroad shops. 

First fire 

General fires. 



42.5 
40.5 
31.5 

45.0 
43.0 
40.0 
36.0 
35.0 
33.5 



44.0 
42.5 
30.0 



.36.1 
41.5 
43.5 
41.0 



49.5 
48.5 
47.0 



45.7 
43.0 



45.5 
44.0 



$22.14 
22.68 



22.90 
21.82 
16.97 

24.25 
23.17 
21.55 
19.40 
18.86 
18.05 



23 . 76 
22.95 
16.20 



19.50 
22.41 
23.49 
22.14 



47.4 
43.5 


22 
20 


73 
88 


46.0 
43.0 


22 

20 


08 
64 


46.0 
42.0 
42.0 


24 
22 

20 


84 
68 
16 



23.76 
23.28 
22.56 



24.57 
23.76 



IK 
IK 

IK 



IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 



220 



APPENDIX N 
BLACKSMITHS' HELPERS, METAL TRADES. 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 
hours 

(cents) 



Per 
week 

full 
time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 
Sundays 

and 
holidays 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur 
days. 



Full 
week. 



Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 



Pittsburgh, Pa.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Locomotive works 

Railroad shops 

Chicago, 111.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 

Outside 

Railroad shops, roads A, C, D 

and E 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road F 

St. Louis, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B. 

First fire 

Second fire 

Miscellaneous fires or light fire. 
Railroad shops, road C. 

Big fire 

Second fire 

Miscellaneous fire 

Miscellaneous fire 

Car fire 

Car fire 

Railroad shops, road E 

Railroad shops, road F 

Railroad shops, road G 

Railroad shops, road H 

Railroad shops, road I 

New Orleans, La.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, road D 

Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road D. 

First fire 

General fire 

Railroad shops, road F. 

First or second fire 

General fires 



28.1 
28.1 
25.0 



38.0 
38.0 
62.5 

28.0 
30.0 
29.0 



23.0 
40.0 
23.0 

28.0 

25.5 
24.5 

29.0 
27.5 
26.5 
26.0 
25.5 
25.0 
35.0 
23.5 
25.0 
26.5 
24.0 



25.0 
20.0 

25.5 
23.0 



27.0 
30.0 



30.0 
29.0 



30.0 
29.0 



S13.50 
14.06 
13.50 



16.72 
18.81 
27.50 

15.12 
16.20 
15.66 



12.42 
17.60 
12.19 

15.09 

13.74 
13.20 

15.66 

14.85 
14.31 
14.04 
13.77 
13.50 
16.80 
12.69 
13.50 
14.31 
12.96 



13.50 
10.80 
13.77 
12.42 



14.58 
14.40 



16.20 
15.66 



14.40 
13.92 



IX 



44 
49 'A 



RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 
BOILERMAKERS' HELPERS, METAL TRADES. 



221 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 

hours 
(cents) 



Per 

week 

full 

time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur- 
days 



Full 
week. 



Pittsburgh, Pa.: 

Majufacturing and j obbing shops 

Building work 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Cincinnati, Ohio: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops 

Cleveland, Ohio: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops 

Kansas City, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road E 

Railroad shops, road F 

Railroad shops, road H 

Railroad shops, road I 

Railroad shops, roads J and K. . . 

Milwaukee, Wis. : 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside shops 

Railroad shops 

Railroad shops, round-house 

St. Louis, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outsise 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 

Louisville, Ky.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road G 

New Orleans, La. : 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 

Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops 

Seattle, Wash.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops, 

Outside 

Drillers and reamers 

Punchers and shearmen 

Railroad shops 



30.0 
46.3 
46.3 
21.5 
22.0 



25.0 
37.5 
21.0 



25.0 
46.3 
25.0 



20.0 
50.0 
25.0 
26.0 
25.5 
25.0 
24.0 
23.5 
25.0 



25.0 
50.0 
23.0 
22.0 



25.0 
28.1 
22.0 
25.5 
23.5 



24.0 
50.0 
22.5 
23.5 



27.8 
21.7 
26.5 



28.0 
29.0 



31.3 
43.8 
40.0 
45.0 
30.0 



$15.00 
20.35 
22.20 
11.61 



12.38 
18.00 
10.57 



12.38 
18.00 
10.57 



10.80 
24.00 
12.00 
14.04 
13.74 
13.47 
12.96 
12.69 
13.50 



13.75 
24.00 
11.73 
12.32 



12.38 
13.92 

13.77 
12.69 



12.96 
22.00 
12.15 
12.69 



15.00 
11.70 
14.31 



15.12 
13.92 



15.00 
21.00 
19.20 
21.60 
16.20 



2 
IK 



2 
2 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK' 
IK 
IK 
IK 



IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 



49K 
48 

50} 



49 K 

48 

50§ 



49K 
44 

54 
53 
54 



222 



APPENDIX N 
BOILERMAKERS, METAL TRADES— Continued. 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Per 

hour 
(cents) 


Per 
week 

full 
time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 
Sundays 

and 
holiday?, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 
week. 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


Buffalo. N. Y.: 


40.0 
45.6 
50.0 
35.0 
28.0 
34.0 
27.0 
34.0 
33.0 

44.0 
56.3 
56.3 
37.5 
38.0 

50.0 
28.5 
36.0 

35.0 
41.0 
42.0 

40.0 
44.5 

35.0 
50.0 
62.5 
36.5 
37.5 

40.0 
56.3 
37.0 
35.0 
40.0 

40.0 
62.5 
35.0 
34.0 
36.5 

37.5 
50.0 
37.5 
39.5 

40.0 
56.3 
41.0 
39.0 
41.0 
41.0 
41.5 
41.0 
41.5 
40.0 
41.0 
40.5 


$21.60 
24 60 
27.00 
21.00 
16.80 
20 40 
16.20 
18.36 
19.80 

22.00 

24.75 
27.00 
20.25 
20.52 

27.00 
17.10 
19.44 

18.90 
22.14 
22.68 

21.60 
24.03 

17.33 
24.00 
30.00 
18.37 
20.25 

19.80 

24.75 
18.50 
17.50 
20.00 

22.00 
30.00 
21.00 
20.40 
21.90 

18.75 
24.00 
20.25 
21.33 

21.60 
27.00 
22.14 
18.72 
19.68 
22.14 
22.36 
22.09 
22.41 
21.60 
22.14 
21.87 


IK 
IK 

IX 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

' 2 " 
2 

IK 
IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 

2 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

2 
IK 

1 Vi 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
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IK 


IK 

IK 
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IK 
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IK 

3 
2 
2 

IK 
IK 

2 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 

2 
IK 

IK 

2 

2 

2 
2 

IK 

2 
2 

IK 
IK 

2 

2 

IK 

IK 

2 
2 

ik; 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 


9 
9 
9 

10 
10 
10 
10 
9 
10 

9 
8 

8 
9 
9 

9 
10 
9 

9 
9 
9 

9 
9 

9 

8 
8 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
9 
9 

10 
8 

10 
10 
10 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
8 
8 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 


9 

9 

9 
10 
10 
10 
10 

9 
10 

5 
4 
8 
9 
9 

9 

10 
9 

9 

9 
9 

9 

9 

4'. 

8 

8 

5* 

9 

4K 

4 

S 

5 

5 

5 

8 
10 
10 
10 

5 
8 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
8 
8 
9 
8 
8 
9 
9 
9 
9 


54 
54 
54 
60 
60 
60 
60 
54 
60 

50 
44 
48 

54 
54 

54 
60 
54 

54 
54 
54 

54 
54 

49 y, 

48 

48 

50>i 

54 

49 y, 

44 

SO 

50 

50 

55 
48 
60 
60 
60 

50 
48 

54 
54 

54 
48 
54 
48 
48 
54 
53 
53 
54 
54 
54 
54 


12 
12 
4 

3 

5 
5 
5 
5 
3 

12 
3 

12 


















Pittsburgh, Pa.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 








Rochester, N. Y.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 




Atlanta, Ga.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 




Jacksonville, Fla: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 


Cincinnati, Ohio: 


Outside 


Outisde tanks and smokestacks. . . 




Cleveland, Ohio: 


Outside 








Detroit, Mich.: 






Railroad shops, road B . . 




Indianapolis, Ind.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Outside 




Railroad shops, road C . 


Kansas City, Mo.: 














Railroad shops, road F 








Railroad shops, road K 



RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 
BOILERMAKERS, METAL TRADES— Continued 



223 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 
hour 

(cents) 



Per 
week 
full 
time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur- 
days. 



Full 
week. 



Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 



Milwaukee, Wis.: 

Manufacturing shops . 
Outside 



Railroad shops, round-house . 



Peoria, 111.: 

Jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, road A. 
Railroad shops, road B . 
Railroad shops, road C . 
Railroad shops, road D . 



Louis, Mo. 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, round-house . 



Birmingham, Ala.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road D 

Railroad shops, roads E, F and G 



Dallas, Texas: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 
Railroad shops , 



Houston, Texas: 

Manufacturing shops . 
Railroad shops 



Little Rock, Ark.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Railroad shops, roads A and 
Railroad shops, round-house, 

nightwork 

Railroad shops, round-house. 



Louisville, Ky.: 

Manufacturing shops . . 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A. 
Railroad shops, road G. 



Memphis, Tenn.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Railroad shops, roads A and C . 



New Orleans, La.: 

Manufacturing shops . . 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road B . 
Railroad shops, road C. 



Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, roads A and B . . . 

Railroad shops, road D 

Salt Lake City, Utah: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Railroad shops 

Seattle, Wash.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, round-house 

Spokane, Wash. 

Jobbing Shops 

Railroad shops 



35. 
62.5 
41.5 
41.5 



40.0 
43.5 
42.0 
39.0 
39.0 



40.0 
45.0 
41.5 
41.5 

42.5 
42.5 



42.5 
41.0 
43.5 
42.0 



43 . 5 
42.0 



43.0 
42.0 



32.0 
50.0 
41.0 
41.0 



38.9 
44.4 
41.0 
43.5 



41.0 
42.0 
42.0 

44.0 
44.0 

50.0 
56.3 
49.0 



$19.25 
30.00 
21.17 
23.24 



21.60 
23.49 
22.68 
21.06 
19.50 



19.80 
22.28 
22.41 
22.36 
22.95 
22.95 



25.50 
22.14 
23.49 
22.68 



23.49 
22.68 



25.50 
22.90 



25.48 
22.90 



17.28 
22.00 
22.14 
22.14 



22.14 
22.95 



21.00 
24.00 
22.14 
23.49 



22.14 
20.16 
22.68 

23.76 
21.12 

24.00 
27.00 
26.46 

24.00 
26.46 



4>2 

8M 

10 

8 

m 



49 J 

53K 



224 



APPENDIX N 
MACHINISTS, METAL TRADES. 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Per 
houi 

(cents) 


Per 
week 

full 
time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 
Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate, 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 
week. 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


Boston, Mass.: 

Manufacturing shops, road A. . . . 
Manufacturing shops, road B . . . . 
Manufacturing shops, road C . . . . 

Tool and die makers, shop A 

Tool and die makers, shop B 


42.0 
38.9 
35.0 
48.0 
44.4 
36.0 
33.3 
40.6 
30.5 
30.5 

40.0 
40.0 
50.0 
50.0 
70.0 
55.0 
35.0 
56.3 
31.0 
34.0 
34.0 

42.5 
55.0 
35.0 
50.0 
30.5 

45.0 
58.0 
55.0 
55.0 
37.0 

35.0 
37.5 
38.0 

30.0 
38.0 
25.0 
50.0 
46.9 
40.0 
30.5 

35.0 
40.0 
40.0 
42.0 

42.0 

37.5 
37.5 
35.5 

38.9 
42.0 
42.0 

38.0 
42.0 
33.5 


$21.00 
21.00 
18.90 
24.00 
24.00 
18.00 
18.00 
19.50 
16.47 
16.17 

21.60 
19.20 
27.00 
24.00 
37.80 
26.40 
16.80 
27.00 
18.60 
20.40 
20.40 

20.40 
26.40 
16.80 
24.00 
16.47 

24.30 
31.32 
26.40 
26.40 
19.98 

18.90 

20.25 
20.52 

16.50 
20.90 
13.75 
24.00 
22.50 
19.20 
16.47 

21.00 
21.60 
22.00 
22.68 

22.68 

18.00 
18.00 
19.17 

21.00 
22.68 
22.68 

20.52 
22.68 
18.09 


IX 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

2 

IK 

2 

2 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 
2 
2 
IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IX 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 


IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 

IK 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 

2 
2 
2 
2 
IK 

2 
2 
2 
2 

2 

IK 

IK 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 

IX 

2 
2 
IK 

2 

IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 


9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
8 
9 
8 
8 
8 
10 
10 
10 

8 
8 
8 
8 
9 

9 
9 

8 
8 
9 

9 
9 
9 

10 
10 
10 
8 
8 
8 
9 

10 
9 

10 
9 

9 

8 
8 
9 

9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 


5 
9 
9 
5 
9 
5 
9 
8 
8 
8 

9 
8 
9 
8 
9 
8 
8 
8 
10 
10 
10 

8 
8 
8 
8 
8 

9 
9 
8 
8 
9 

9 
9 
9 

5 

5 
5 
8 
8 
8 
8 

10 
9 
5 
9 

9 

8 
8 
9 

9 
9 
9 

9 

9 
9 


50 
54 
54 
50 
54 
50 
54 
48 
53 
53 

54 
48 
54 
48 
54 
48 
48 
48 
60 
60 
60 

48 
48 
48 
48 
53 

54 
54 
48 
48 

54 

54 
54 

54 

55 
55 
55 
48 
48 
48 
53 

60 
54 

55 
54 

54 

48 

48 
54 

54 

54 
54 

54 
54 

54 


12 

"ii" 

• • J2 • 

12 
12 
12 

"12" 










Buffalo, N. Y.: 




Tool and die makers, shop A 

Tool and die makers, shop B 

Die sinkers (for drop forgers) 






Railroad shops, roads D and F. . . 
Railroad shops, roads E & H 


New Haven, Conn.: 










Philadelphia, Pa.: 










Pittsburgh, Pa.: 






Providence, R. I.: 














Atlanta, Ga.: 








Railroad shops, roads B, D, E 
and F 


Baltimore, Md.: 






Charleston, S. C: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 




Jacksonville, Fla.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 


Railroad shops, specialists 



RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 

MACHINISTS, METAL TRADES— Continued. 



225 



Rate of wages. 



City and occupation. 



Per 
hour 

(cents) 



Per 
week 
full 
time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 

days. 



Satur. 
days. 



Full 
week. 



Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 



Richmond, Va.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops 

Locomotive shops 

Locomotive shops, tool and die 

makers 

Locomotive shops, specialists 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road C 



Chicago, 111.: 

Mfg. and jobbing, shop A . . . . 
Mfg. and jobbing, shop B . . . . 
Tool and die makers, shop A. 
Tool and die makers, shop B . 

Specialists 

Breweries 

Outisde. 

Railroad shops 



Cincinnati, Ohio: 

Manufacturing shops . . 
Tool and die makers. . . 

Jobbing shops 

Breweries 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A . 
Railroad shops, road B . 
Railroad shops, road C . 
Railroad shops, road D . 
Railroad shops, road E. 
Rialroad shops, road F. 

Cleveland, Ohio: 

Manufacturing shops . . 
Tool and die makers. . . 

Specialists 

Outside 

Railroad shops 



Detroit, Mich.: 

Manufacturing shops, A 

Manufacturing shops, B 

Tool and die makers, shops A . 
Tool and die makers, shop B . . 
Trimmers and die makers . . . 

Die sinkers 

Jobbing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 



Grand Rapids, Mich : 

Manufacturing. Shops, A. . . . 
Manufacturing shops, B . . . . . 
Tool and die makers, shop A. 
Tool and die makers, shop B 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 



Kansas City, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Tool and die makers 

Breweries 

Outside 

Railroad shops, roads C and D . 

Railroad shops, road B 

Railroad shops, road E 

-R-airroa-d shopsv~roa"d"Fr: r.".". .": 

Railroad shops, road G 

Railroad shops, road H 

Railroad shops, roads I and K. . 



40.0 
25.0 
38.6 
41.0 
40.0 



45.0 
47.0 
52.9 
50.0 
41.0 
50.0 
75.0 
43.5 



35.0 
42.5 
32.5 
37.5 
45.0 
42.6 
37.5 
42.5 
38.5 
36.0 
32.0 



45.0 
50.0 
36.1 
65.0 
40.0 



40.0 
40.0 
45.0 
42.5 
45.0 
60.0 
40.0 
62.5 
31.0 
35.5 



27.5 
27.5 
27.5 
27.5 
35.0 
35.5 



50.0 
52.5 
55.0 
62.5 
41.0 
40.0 
41.5 
41 70 
38.0 
41.5 
40.0 



$19.53 
19.25 

22.00 
13.75 
20.82 
22.14 
21.60 



24.30 
22.56 
25 . 39 
27.00 
22.14 
24.00 
33.00 
21.75 



16.80 
20.40 
15.60 
18.00 
21.60 
22.98 
20.25 
22.95 
20.79 
19.44 
19.20 



22.50 
25.00 
18.05 
28.60 
20.00 



20.00 
22.00 
22.50 
23.38 
24.75 
33.00 
21.60 
30.00 
18.60 
19.17 



14.85 
16.23 
14.85 
16.23 
19.25 
23.10 



24.00 
25.20 
26.40 
27.50 
22.14 
19.20 
22.36 
22:09 
20.52 
22.41 
21.60 



IK 



IK 
IK 



226 



APPENDIX X 

MACHINISTS. METAL TRADES— Continued. 



City and occupation. 



Rate of wages. 



Per 

hour 
(cents) 



Per 
week 
full 

time. 



For 
over- 
time. 



For 
Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate, 
multi- 
plied by 



Full 
days. 



Satur. 
days. 



Fall 
week. 



Milwaukee. Wis l 

Manufacturing shops 

Breweries 

Railroad shops 

Minneapolis. Minn.: 

Outside 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, roads B and C. . . 

Omaha, N'ebr.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 

Auto shops 

Auto repair shops 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Peoria, III.: 

Jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, roads A and B. . . 
Railroad shops, roads C and D. . . 

St. Louis, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Tool and die makers 

Specialists 

Breweries 

Outside 

Printing machine repair shops. . . . 

Railroad shops, roads A and F. . . 

Railroad shops, roads B and K. . . 

Railroad shops, road B, night- 
work 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shops, road C 

Railroad shoos, road C night- 
work 

Railroad shops, road G 

Railroad shops, road H 

Railroad shops, road K 

St. Paul, Minn. : 

Manufacturing shops 

Outside 

Railroad shops 

Birmingham, Ala. 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroads shops, roads D, E and F. 
Railroad shops, road B 

Houston, Texas: 

Jobbing shops 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Little Rock, Ark. 

Manufacturing shops 

Railroad shops 

Railroad shops, round-house, 
nightwork 



33.0 
50.0 
43.5 



62.5 
44 5 
45.5 



40.0 
42.0 

44.4 
43.0 
41.5 



40.0 
41.0 
39.0 



37.0 
45.0 
27.5 
55.0 
62.5 
50.0 
41.5 
41.5 

41.5 
42.0 
42.5 
42.0 

42.5 
41.0 
41.5 
41.5 



40.0 
62.5 
45.5 



45.0 
42.0 
41 



40.0 
43.0 
41.5 



S18.15 
22.00 
22 19 



28.13 
22.70 
23.21 



21.60 
22.68 
24.00 
23.22 
22.36 



21.60 
22.14 
19.50 



19.98 
24.30 
14.85 
26.40 
27.50 
24.00 
22.41 
22.36 

24.89 
22.68 
20.40 
20.16 

22.95 
22.14 
22.41 
24.89 



21.60 
28.13 
23 21 



24.30 
22.68 
22.14 



21.60 
23.22 
22.41 



m 



SH 



RATES OF PAY OF RAILROAD MECHANICS 

MACHINISTS, METAL TRADES— Concluded. 



227 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Per 
hour 
(cents) 


Per 
week 

full 
time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 

Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 
week. 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


Louisville, Ky.: 


33.3 
40.0 
41.5 
38.0 

41.5 

42.0 
42.5 
41.0 

42.5 

38.9 
44.4 
41.0 

43.5 

40.0 
42.0 
42.0 
43.0 

43.0 
44.0 

45.0 
60.0 

47.5 

53.1 
47.5 


$18.00 
21.60 
19.92 
20.52 
22.41 

22.68 
22.95 
22.14 
22.90 

21.00 
24.00 
22.14 
23.49 

21.60 
20.16 
22.68 
23.22 

23.22 
21.12 

21.60 
26.40 
25.65 

25.50 
25.65 


IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 

IK 
l>f 
IK 
IK 

2 
2 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 


2 

2 

2 

IK 

IK 

2 

2 
2 
IK 

2 

IK 
IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

2 
2 
IK 

2 


9 
9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
8 

8 
8 
9 

8 
9 


9 
9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 

8 

9 
9 
9 
8 

9 
8 
9 
9 

9 
8 

8 
4 
9 

8 
9 


54 
54 
48 
54 
54 

54 
54 
54 
53 

54 
54 
54 
53 

54 
48 
54 
54 

54 
48 

48 
44 
54 

48 

54 


12" 










Memphis, Tenn : 






Railroad shops, roads D and F. . . 

New Orleans, La.: 

Manufacturing, shops 


Railroad shops, roads A and B . . . 


Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops, roads A and B. . . 




Salt Lake City, Utah: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 


Seattle, Wash.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 


Railroad shops, round-house 

Spokane, Wash. : 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 





228 



APPENDIX N 
MACHINISTS 1 HELPERS. METAL TRADES. 



City and occupation. 


Rate of wages. 


Hours. 


Ter 
hour 

(cents) 


Per 
week 

full 
time. 


For 
over- 
time. 


For 
Sundays 

and 
holidays, 
regular 
rate 
multi- 
plied by 


Full 
days. 


Satur- 
days. 


Full 
week. 


Number 
months 

with 
Saturday 

half- 
holiday. 


New Haven, Conn. : 


37.5 
24.5 

36.0 
43.8 
20.0 
20.0 
23.5 

24.0 
25.0 
25.5 
24.0 


$18.00 
13.23 

17.28 
19.25 
10.80 
10.78 
12.66 

12.96 
12.00 
13.77 
12.96 


1 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 


2 
IK 

2 
2 

IK 
IK 

IK 

IK 
IK 
IK 
IK 


8 
9 

8 
8 
9 
9 
9 

9 
8 
9 
9 


8 
8 

8 
4 
9 
8 
8 

9 
8 
9 
9 


48 

53 

48 
44 
54 
53 
53 

54 
48 
54 
54 


...... 


Railroad shops 

Kansas City, Mo.: 










Denver, Colo.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops, roads A and D . . . 







MOLDERS, IRON. 



Richmond, Va.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops 



Salt Lake City, Utah: 
Iron and brass. 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops 



33.3 
44 .4 



$18.00 
24.00 



54 
54 

48 

54 



PATTERN MAKERS, WOOD, METAL TRADES. 



New Haven, Conn.: 

Manufacturing and jobbing shops. 
Railroad shops 

Richmond, Va.: 

Manufacturing shops— locomotive 

works 

Railroad shops, road A 

Railroad shops, road B 

Minneapolis, Minn.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Jobbing shops 

Railroad shops 

St. Louis, Mo.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Jobbing shops 

Steel works 

Railroad shops 

St. Paul, Minn.: 

Manufacturing shops 

Jobbing shops 

Railroad shops 



40.0 
38.5 



37.5 
41.7 
41.5 



42.5 
45.0 
42.5 



48.0 
60.0 
58.5 
39.0 



42.5 
45.0 
42.5 



$20.00 
20.79 



20.63 
22.50 
22.41 



23.38 
22.50 
21.68 



24.00 
26.40 
28.96 
20.67 



23.38 
22.50 
21.68 



2 
IK 



49H 

53 



APPENDIX O. 

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF LOCOMOTIVE 
FIREMEN 

There is a disposition on the part of some railway officials, when con- 
testing requests for increases in wages for locomotive firemen to refer 
to them as "coal heavers," and in other manner compare them with the 
cheapest of common labor. Anticipating a recurrence of this class of 
"argument," we present in Exhibit No. 4, information formerly presented 
as Exhibit No. 53 in the Western Arbitration of 1914-1915, with title of 
"Discipline and Education of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and 
Standardization of Wages." Pages 5 to 11 inclusive are extracts from 
opinions expressed by the highest technical railway authorities. As 
typical of these expressed opinions we quote herein only one, which ap- 
pears in the original exhibit under the title of "Firemen Must Know 
More than Engineer of 25 Years Ago." 

"Any fireman, before he is promoted, is expected to know more facts, and know 
them right, about any one piece of machinery handled by the engineer than the 
engineer of twenty-five years ago knew altogether. I think the engineer who 
goes on duty today knows just as much more about the operation of locomotives 
as the number of devices which he is expected to handle has increased. . . . 
When you examine a fireman on combustion at the end of his second year's 
term, you will find, no matter how poorly educated he is, his answers come in as 
nice, flowing, educated language as possible, because he has learned them by heart 
from some question and answer book on combustion. . . . " — C. B. Conger 
Wm. Sellers & Co.) : Trav. Engrs. Ass'n. Pro., 1910, p. 110. 

Mr. Conger, from whom this quotation is made, previous to his death, 
was recognized as one of the best authorities in America on locomotive 
matters. 

We also submit as evidence of the educational requirements of loco- 
motive firemen the testimony of Mr. H. O. Martin, one of several wit- 
nesses, which is found on pages 1473 to 1507 of the proceedings of the 
arbitration, from which we quote, as follows : 

H. O. MARTIN was called as a witness and having been duly sworn, testified as 
follows : 

Mr. Carter: State your name and residence. 

Mr. Martin : H. O. Martin, Clovis, New Mexico. 

Mr. Carter: What is your present occupation? 

Mr. Martin: Locomotive fireman. 

Mr. Carter : By what railroad are you employed ? 

Mr. Martin : I am employed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on the Pecos 
Division. 

Mr. Carter: When were you employed there? 

Mr. Martin : November 22, 1910. 

Mr. Carter : Then you have about four years' seniority as a fireman ? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir, a little over four years. 

Mr. Carter : Now, Mr. Martin, it will be our purpose to have you in pro- 
gressive manner, explain all the duties of a locomotive fireman, but I shall first 

229 



230 APPENDIX O 

ask you to explain the nature or the form of your application for employment 
before \ou entered the service of the company as a fireman. 

Mr. Martin : The application of the Santa Fe for employment as a fireman, con- 
stitutes about two ordinary foolscap size pages. I don't just remember the num- 
ber of questions it contains, but it asks you your full name, your age, and the 
name of your nearest relatives ; what you have been doing for the last five years, 
and all the railroad experience that you have had, even though it extends further 
back than five years. It also asks you to give references of at least three names, 
men who have known you for more than five years. And, there are several 
general questions ; 1 cannot recall them all now. 

Mr. Carter: Evidently the purpose of this application is to secure, the services 
of men above the average qualifications as engineers and firemen, is that not 
true? 

Mr. Martin: Yes. sir, I think that is the intent of the application. 

Mr. Carter: There is nothing wrong about the application, is there ? 

Mr. Martin: No, sir; I consider that it is all right. 

Mr. Carter: Now, with regard to your physical examination before entering 
the service, will you describe that physical examination? 

Mr. Martin: Well, you are first examined on your eyesight and hearing. In the 
eyesight examination they give you the color test, and also make you read the 
card with graduated letters on it. 

Your hearing is then tested, after which you are required to strip from the 
waist up, and the doctor usually tests your lungs, and heart, and then you drop 
your trousers down, and underwear, so that he can examine your lower limbs for 
enlarged veins. Also examines you for rupture, for piles, and for private 
diseases. 

Mr. Carter : Did you ever make application for insurance in any insurance 
organization? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, I carry a policy in the Fireman's Organization, that 
is the only insurance I carry. 

Mr. Carter: How much insurance do you carry? 

Mr. Martin : Fifteen hundred dollars. 

Mr. Carter : Was the examination for fifteen hundred dollars insurance as rigid 
as that for the job of fireman? 

Mr. Martin : Well, it was not in my case. Probably I didn't get hardly as 
rigid an examination, however, as the doctor usually gives because it was the 
same doctor that examined me just a little while before for the company, and 
probably he did not examine me as rigidly as a different doctor would. 

Mr. Carter: After you were accepted as a fireman, having fulfilled all of the 
requirements, through application and examination, were you examined again, 
on, we will say, your knowledge of mechanical matters? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, but there was yet another examination at the time I 
entered the service. 

Mr. Carter: Just explain that. 

Mr. Martin: That is what is commonly known as the ''Book of Rules" exam- 
ination. You are examined on signals, flagging rules, and a few questions on 
train rights. 

Mr. Carter: You do not question the necessity of this examination do you? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir, I do not. I think it is very necessary. 

Mr. Carter: What was the next examination you were required to pass? 

Mr. Martin : At the end of one year's service they require you to pass what 
is known as the "First Year Mechanical Examination." 

Mr. Carter: When did you have another examination on matters of this kind? 

Mr. Martin : At the end of two years service I passed the Second Year Me- 
chanical Examination. 

Mr. Carter : What percentage of questions asked do you have to answer cor- 
rectly, in order to pass these examinations? 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 231 

Mr. Martin : I have understood that it was 85 per cent, but not by an official 
of the company, and so I couldn't say. 

Mr. Carter: You passed? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, I got notice that I had successfully passed the exam- 
ination. 

Mr. Carter : Now, tell me of some more examinations that, as a fireman, you 
are required to pass? 

Mr. Martin : Every three years in the service of the Santa Fe Railway Com- 
pany, you have to repass the eyesight and hearing test. Then at the end of four 
years service, you have to pass what is called the "Third Year Mechanical 
Examination." 

Mr. Carter: Now, will you explain about the number of question that you have 
to answer accurately, in order to pass all of these examinations on mechanical 
matters, up to the third examination? 

Mr. Martin : The first year examination contains one hundred questions, even 
I believe. It treats particularly of combustion and boiler appliances. The Second 
Year Mechanical Examination contains ninety questions and treats of boiler appli- 
ances a little further; and also goes, likely, into machinery. That is, the engine 
valve motion and air brake appliances, and such things as that. 

The Third Year Mechanical Examination is very exhaustive in regard to air 
brake appliances and mechanical matters. There are 424 questions, I believe, 
in the Third Year Mechanical Examination. When I was writing it up, it took 
me five days to write the examination. . 

Mr. Carter : Did it require much effort on your part, or much application during 
the time you were fireman there, to acquire the knowledge necessary to success- 
fully pass these examinations? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, it requires quite a bit of study to successfully pass the 
Santa Fe Mechanical examination. 

Mr. Carter : Did you purchase mechanical books in order to acquire this in- 
formation ? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir ; there were three of us roomed together, and we pur- 
chased quite a number of books among us ; some from the Scranton School, and 
a set of Modern American Railway Practice Books. We also had the instruction 
papers that come in the Firemen's Magazine, and one, or two, or three other 
air brake books. I don't remember just the names of all of them. 

Mr. Carter : Is there much space in this Firemen's Magazine, to which you 
have referred, devoted to instructions of locomotive firemen and engineers on 
mechanical matters? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, quite a bit. 

Mr. Carter : It is devoted largely to that, is it not ? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. I found it very helpful to me, too, in passing the exam- 
inations. 

Mr. Carter : Then I understand you to say, or I infer from what you have said, 
that it is believed by the organization, of which you are a member, that these 
men should acquire this information? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir ; it is their policy. 

Mr. Carter: What other examinations were you required to undergo at the end 
of the fourth year? 

Mr. Martin : At the end of the fourth year we had to again take the general 
physical examination, the same as when we entered the se'rvice of the company, 
and also a thorough examination on the Book of Rules on train orders. 

Mr. Carter : If at any time you fail to pass these physical examinations, what 
will happen to you? 

Mr. Martin: Well, I can only recall one man on bur division who has failed 
to pass, and he was taken out of service. 

Mr. Carter : What did he fail to pass on ? 

Mr. Martin : He failed to pass the eye examination. 



232 APPENDIX O 

Mr. Carter: Did he pass the eye examination in the heginning? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: Then his eyes must have been injured while employed as a fireman, 
is that right? 

Mr. Martin: It would seem so, from the fact that he was taken out of service. 

Mr. Carter: How about this Book of Rules? Is it quite a voluminous book? 

Mr. Martin: Why, it is a pretty good sized little volume. I have a copy of it 
here. (Indicating.) 

Mr. Carter: About how many questions are there in that book that you have 
to learh the replies to, the proper answers to? 

Mr. Martin: Why, there are six hundred and some odd, I don't remember just 
exactly how many. I wouldn't be positive about that. 

Mr. Carter: Then, when you pass this last examination, you are qualified for 
an engine, are you not? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: But you are not an engineer, or you do not acquire date, do you, 
until after you run an engine? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir. 

Mr. Carter: Have you run an engine yet? 

Mr. Martin: No, sir, I have not. 

Mr. Carter: Will you read from that Book of Rules, in a distinct voice, so the 
stenographer can get it, the rules affecting locomotive firemen? 

Mr. Martin: All of the general rules apply equally to firemen as well as other 
employes. They run from A to L. 

"Rule A. Employes whose duties are prescribed by these rules must provide 
themselves with a copy. 

"B. Employes must be conversant with and Obey the rules and special instruc- 
tions. If in doubt as to their meaning they must apply to proper authority for an 
explanation. 

"C. Employes inust pass the required examinations. 

"D. Persons employed in any service on trains are subject to the rules and 
special instructions. 

"E. Employes must render every assistance in their power in carrying out the 
rules and special instructions. 

"F. Any violation of the rules or special instructions must be reported. 

"G. The use of intoxicants by employes while on duty is prohibited. Their 
use, or the frequenting of places where they are sold is sufficient cause for dis- 
missal. 

"H. The use of tobacco by employes while on duty in or about passenger sta- 
tions, or on passenger cars, is prohibited. 

"J. Employes on duty must wear the prescribed badge and uniform and be 
neat in appearance. 

"K. Persons authorized to transact business at stations or on trains must be 
orderly and avoid annoyance to patrons. 

"L. In case of danger to the Company's propertv, employes must unite to pro 
tect it." 

Mr. Carter: I understand that badge does not apply to you nor. the uniform? 
Mr. Martin : No, sir, it does not. 

Mr. Carter: Now, read some other rules that apply specifically to locomotive 
firemen. 

Mr. Martin: On page 29, the last two paragraphs of Rule 99, which is the 
flagging rule, reads as follows: 

"When a train is backing out of a siding a flagman must go a sufficient distance 
to the rear to insure protection. 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 233 

"The front of a train must be protected in the same way. when necessary, by 
the fireman' unless relieved from that duty by authority of the conductor. If 
no conductor, the directions of the engineman will obtain." 

On page 33, Rule 210-A, reads as follows: "On receiving orders, conductor 
must read them aloud to the operator. The engineman must read the orders aloud 
to conductor and sign conductor's copy. Conductors must show their orders to 
rear brakeman, and the engineman to the fireman and (in case of a freight train) 
to the head brakeman, who are required to read them." 

Mr. Carter: Anything else? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. On page 63, Rule 313: 

"It is alike dangerous to assume that signals given to the Engineman or Fire- 
man have been seen, and if seen will be obeyed — when obedience to those signals 
on the part of the Engineman or Fireman is essential to the safety of an em- 
ploye in the performance of his duty." 

Mr. Carter : Continue to read until you have given all the rules affecting fire- 
men. 

Mr. Martin: On page 83, Rule 462: 

"They must at all times keep a sharp lookout to see that no portion of the 
train becomes detached without their instantly observing it. They will also re- 
quire the Firemen to do so when not necessarily otherwise engaged." 

Page 86, we find a chapter devoted entirely to the duties of a fireman, Rules 
491 to 500, inclusive. 

"491. Firemen, when on the road, are under the direction of the Engine- 
men, and object to the orders of the Trainmaster; and will, in all matters re- 
lating to the Mechanical Department, report to and receive instructions from the 
Master Mechanic or his representative. 

"492. They must be on their engines at least thirty minutes before time of start- 
ing, and conform to the directions they may receive from the Engineman. 

"493. They must always observe the position of train order or other signals, 
and it is a part of their duty to personally examine all train orders, and they 
are required to call upon enginemen for them and will be held responsible for 
failure to report non-compliance with this rule. 

"494. They must watch the Engineman, and in case he should fail to promptly 
obey signals, see that he is not disabled. If the engineman becomes suddenly 
disabled or cannot be kept awake, stop the train and report to the Conductor. 

"495. They must assist in keeping a constant lookout upon the track, and must 
instantly give the Engineman notice of any obstruction or signal they may per- 
ceive. 

"496. They must make themselves familiar with train rules, including those that 
apply to the protection of trains, and must understand the use of signals and be 
prepared to use them promptly. 

"497. They must not attempt to run an engine in the absence of the Engineman 
unless they are directed to do so by the Conductor or some officer in authority, 
in consequence of some special emergency. 

"498. They must take charge of the engine should the Engineman at any time 
be absent, and will not leave it until his return, and not permit an unauthorized 
person to be upon it. 

"499. They must ring the bell when required 

"500. When their train is starting from a station, they must look back until 
the last car has passed the platform safely and properly, and to notice any sig- 
nal from the station or trainmen." 

Mr. Carter: Have you any other rules that apply particularly to firemen? 

Mr. Martin : Those are the rules that apply specifically to firemen. 

Mr. Carter: Now, you do not complain that it is an undue hardship to require 
firemen to have this knowledge, do you? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir, I do not. I think we should have it. 



234 APPENDIX O 

Mr Carter: Is it not a fact, in addition to the knowledge which you gained 
from reading, that the engineers for whom you tired, taught you a great deal 
concerning the operation of a locomotive ? 

Mr. Martin: Yes. sir, they did. I find that most engineers are very anxious 
to instruct their firemen, if they will show they are interested. 

Mr Carter: Then your knowledge that you have acquired is not only theoreti- 
cal, secured from books, but from actual practice, and by the tuition received 
from engineers in practice? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr Carter: Do you know anything of a recent increase in the number of 
rules in the Hook of Rules from 337 to 424 since 1910, I mean the mechanical 
questions? 

Mr. Martin: Yes. sir. the mechanical questions were increased some time in 
1911, I don't remember just exactly when it was. 

Mr. Carter: Would that indicate that the requirements are becoming, I will 
not say more severe, but stricter than formerly? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. I think it does. 

Mr. Carter: Will you explain what are your preparatory duties? 

Mu\ Martin: The rules of the company require us to report at least thirty 
minutes before leaving time. But, in the preparation of a Mallet compound 
engine for road service^ I find that thirty minutes is too short a time, and 1 
usually get around about forty or forty-five minutes before leaving time. 

Mr. Carter: What do you do within these forty-five minutes? 

Mr. Martin : Well, we check over the supplies that have been placed on the 
engine ; we look over our oil supply to see that we have the correct kind and 
amount of oil ; we check over the signal appliances, to see that we have tor- 
pedoes, fusees, two red lights, one white light and two red flags, and the classi- 
fication flags; we look at our fire inside the fire box, to see that there are no 
serious leaks which might cause a failure on the road ; look at the water in 
the boiler and see that the engine is in safe condition ; we look at the supply 
of coal, and water on the tank; and with the construction of a Mallet type 
engine it is necessary also to get out and look in the combustion chambers in the 
boiler to see that they have been properly cleaned out. If they were not, it 
would probably result in steam failure on the road. Then we usually see that 
all the peep hole plates and washout plug covers that lead into these combustion 
chambers are closed; get down and examine the ash pans and grates and see 
that they are in proper working condition ; try the mechanical grate shaker and see 
that it is working, and get our supply of drinking water and check over the 
firing tools. 

Mr. Carter: The engineer's responsibility and yours are joint in this matter, 
are they not? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: Now, what is the engineer doing all the time that you are doing 

this? 

Mr. Martin : Well, he is usually pretty busy looking the engine around. One 
of these articulated compound engines is really two engines coupled together and it 
will take him all the time before leaving the roundhouse to check over any work 
that might have been reported, and examine the movable parts of his engine to 
see that everything is in proper condition to make a successful trip. 

I will say that we are usually required — or I don't know as you could say re- 
quired, but it is the custom on our road to leave the roundhouse twenty minutes 
before leaving time; if we do not get away at least twenty minutes before leaving 
time, they usually have someone out there to find out why we have not started 
away from the roundhouse. 

Mr. Carter: Then I understand that you and the engineer find plenty to do 
during this preparatory period? 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 235 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, we are both very busy. . 

Mr. Carter : As I understand it, the engineer is primarily responsible, and you 
are responsible, as his assistant, in this matter? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir ; that is the case. 

Mr. Carter : If anything would go wrong, you perhaps would both be penalized, 
if there was a grievous error? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir; if a delay resulted from overlooking anything before 
we left the roundhouse, I think we would be asked to explain why this was not 
noticed before we left the roundhouse track. 

Mr. Carter : I understand from what you said that you are now employed on a 
Mallet engine; is that true? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : Will you explain your duties as a fireman from the time you 
leave the initial terminal until you reach the final terminal? Now, there is no 
use repeating what you have read from your Book of Rules. 

Mr. Martin : Well, of course, we are expected at all times to keep a sharp 
lookout, but on a Mallet type engine the fireman's duty primarily is to shovel coal, 
and that usually keeps him pretty busy. Of course, he has his fire to clean, and the 
fireman takes pride in his work and likes to sweep up the deck once in a while 
and keep the cab neat while he is out on the road. 

Mr. Carter : I understood you to say that there is plenty of work for the fire- 
man to do between terminals. 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: Have you any special duties to perform at the final terminal? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir ; we are required to fill the lubricators upon arrival in- 
stead of, as some roads do, fill them going out; because, if we waited to fill them 
going out, it might possibly result in a delay. And so, on arrival, we have three 
lubricators 1 to fill on a Mallet type engine. We have what is commonly called 
the low pressure lubricator and the high pressure lubricator; those lubricate the 
engines and air pump. Then, the flange lubricator, which is used to lubricate the 
leading drive wheel flanges and sometimes also the pony truck flanges. 

Mr. Carter : How long does it usually take you to do this ? 

Mr. Martin : Well, it will take us anywhere from twenty minutes to twenty- 
five minutes, if we work fast and have everything right. We also, of course, have 
got to take our oil can and tools and lock them up. 

Mr. Carter: I notice you use the plural pronoun; when you say "we" I suppose 
you mean you and the engineer? 

Mr. Martin: In speaking specially of the fireman's duty, I meant the firemen as 
a whole, when I said "we." 

Mr. Carter: The engineer has duties also to perform with you, has he not? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. He has to give his engine a thorough inspection upon 
arrival at terminal and report all necessary work; register out on the roundhouse 
register; and the engineer and fireman both are required, of course, to register 
on the Federal register, both on leaving and arriving. 

Mr. Carter : About how much time before you actually leave and how much 
time after you arrive is required of you as a fireman, in addition to the time that 
you are in transit from the initial terminal to the final terminal? 

Mr. Martin : Well, I should say at least an hour ; I think it will run more than 
that. 

Mr. Carter: The Santa Fe Railroad pays for this, does it not? 



In the award of 1915, firemen and engineers were relieved of this work. 



2M 



APPENDIX O 



Mr. Martin : 

Mr. Carter: 

Mr. Martin : 
caller's book. 

Mr. Carter : 

M.. Martin: 

Mr. ( !arter : 
fire a Mallet? 

Mr. Martin : 

Mr. Carter: 



No, sir, it does not. 1 

If it runs into overtime they pay for it, do they not? 
No, our time starts from the time designated to leave on the 

Then you get no pay for this initial or final terminal work? 

No, sir. 

When you first went to firing on this Pecos division, did you 

Yes. 

Then you have worked on the same engine? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir, I have been on the same engine since February, 1911, up 
until December 6th. I was displaced off a regular engine, then, on account of 
setting engineers back. 

Mr. Carter: Now what are you doing? 

Mr. Martin: I am not sure that I could hold anything, if I was hack there 
now, except the extra board. I probably might, on the Western district, hold a 
regular engine, if they did not make a final cut, which they were contemplating 
when I left the division. 

Mr. Carter: Has the tonnage of the same engine increased since you have 
been there? 

Mr. Martin : 

Mr. Carter : 

Mr. Martin 



Yes, sir. 

Have you any knowledge to what extent: 
I have no figures on it, but I know from my own personal knowl- 



edge that it has been increased. I remember four years ago, when I hired out 
there, 2,200 tons was about the limit; we never thought about starting with more 
than that; and now we haul up to 3,000 tons. 

Mr. Carter: With the same engine? 

Mr. Martin : The same engine. 

Mr. Carter: What are your terminal points there, on this Pecos Division? 

I have been working from Clovis, New Mexico, at Vaughn, New 



that? 



much coa! is consumed on this locomotive in that 



Mr. Martin 
Mexico. 

Mr. Carter : How far is 

Mr. Martin : 131 miles. 

Mr. Carter : About how 
131 miles? 

Mr. Martin : I should say — 

Mr. Carter : I mean, with full tonnage. 

Mr. Martin: With full tonnage we frequently burn up to thirty tons, and I have 
a record, I believe, of one trip where it went to thirty-three tons; I think that is 
the heaviest trip that I ever had. 

Mr. Carter: You have an assistant fireman on there, have you not, on part of this 
run? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir : 
gine. 

Mr. Carter : Do you believe that it i 
fireman on the engine with you? 

Mr. Martin : I think it is absolutely. 






the last 57 miles, there is a second fireman on the en- 
absolutely necessary to have this second 



1 In the award of 1915, firemen and engineers were allowed pay from time required 
report for duty. 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 237 

Air. Carter : You do not think that one fireman could get over the road in the 
same time, do you? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir, he could not. I don't believe that one fireman ordinarily 
could take one of those engines over the road with full tonnage at all. 

Mr. Carter : Do you believe that the second fireman being on this engine makes 
it possible to haul more cars ? 

Mr. Martin : I have heard the officials of the company say that they were getting 
better performance out of the engines since they placed the additional fireman on. 

Mr. Carter: Do you think that it has reduced the time; that is, do you think 
that one of these engines with full tonnage would go over the road in less time 
with the two firemen on than with one fireman on? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, I am sure they would, because that has been my observa- 
tion. We are making from an hour to an hour and a half better time now than 
we formerly did. 

Mr. Carter : Do your trips now run into overtime with these two firemen ? 

Mr. Martin: No, sir; I have not had an overtime trip in a long time, unless it 
was some rare occurrence, where we would have unusual delays or something 
like that. 

Mr. Carter: If you did not have these two firemen, do you believe you could 
make it without the payment of overtime? 

Mr. Martin : Well, if one man had all the work to do, I am pretty sure he 
would run into overtime. 

Mr. Carter: Then, it is not a fact that the second fireman pays his own fare? 

Mr. Martin : I think he does. 

Mr. Carter: It does not cost the railroad company anything? 

Mr. Martin : I don't believe he does. - 

Mr. Carter: It increases the efficiency of the locomotive? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : And reduces the overtime to all members of the train and engine 
crew? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. The general manager of the Western Lines was through 
Clovis one time, and he asked me how we liked the assistant fireman proposition, 
and I told him that it had been a great help to the boys on the division ; and we 
talked about it a little while and he said : "Well, the company was satisfied with 
the proposition, if the men were." 

Mr. Carter: On your return trip, you do not have this fireman, do you? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir ; he deadheads down the hill to where he got on, and helps 
another train. 

Mr. Carter : How much coal will you burn coming back the other way ? 

Mr. Martin : It varies from about ten to fifteen tons on the return trip. 

Mr. Carter : Then, there must be a strong ruling grade in one direction ? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir; we have, going west, a 71 mile hill on the last part of 
the division, that we have to pull, and of course, coming east, it is down hill over 
half the division. 

Mr. Carter : Do you ever notice the heat from the firebox in firing this loco- 
motive? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir, it is very great. Of course, we are protected considerably 
on account of the air door. If it was not for the fact that they are equipped with 
an air door I do not believe a man could hardly stand to fire one with a swing 
door ; in hooking the fire, we have a grade of csal there that must be hooked some- 
times to loosen it up ; and sometimes in hooking the fire I have had my glove break 
out ablaze ; the door would have to remain partly open in order to hook it, without 
the air door. 



238 APPENDIX O 

Mr. Carter: Explain what you mean by the air door. 

Mr. Martin: It is two slides that work like this (illustrating) in grooves at the 
side of the door, and when you press a lever with your foot, the air throws the 
door open, and then it snaps shut again; of course it is just an instant that it is 
open, while you are putting a shovel of coal in. 

Mr. Carter : You spoke a moment ago about a mechanical grate shaker. 
the Santa Fe equipped those engines which you fire with mechanical grate shakers? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, it operates with steam. 

Mr. Carter: Do you believe you could shake the grates if there were large 
clinkers on the grates, in a Mallet engine? 

Mr. Martin: You could not, the way they are connected up at present. Instead 
of being four different grate stubs, as on most large firebox engines, with a Mallet 
there are only two; half the grates of the entire firebox are connected up to one 
stub; and with the mechanical grate shaker, of course, it is an easy matter t<> 
shake the grates. 

Mr. Carter : Do you have on this engine that you fire a mechanical coal hoist 
or passer? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: What does that do? Explain to the Board what that does for you? 

Mr. Martin : It keeps the coal shoved up against the coal gate so that the fire- 
man does not have to dig it down or reach for it. It is constructed by simply 
being an apron that lies back in the coal pit of the tank, and it is hinged at the 
bottom ; at the top of this apron there are two air cylinders, connected up to the 
main air reservoir by air hose; and when you turn the air on to it, the cylinders 
tilt that apron over and dump the coal right over against the gates. 

Mr. Carter : Then the Santa Fe Railroad, on this division, and on this loco- 
motive, has provided for the assistance of the fireman, an extra fireman on 52 
miles of track in one direction, a mechanical grate shaker, and a mechanical coal 
passer? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : Anything else in the way of mechanical appliances to assist the 
fireman ? 

Mr. Martin : We have the air dump ash pan. 

Mr. Carter: The air dump ash pan? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, which is of great assistance. 

Mr. Carter: And the air door? 

Mr. Martin : And the air door, yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: Do you believe it would be possible for a fireman to fire these 
locomotives with this tonnage over this division without these appliances ? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir, I don't believe it would. 

Mr. Carter: Is it not a fact that where you do not have these appliances, 'bat 
the engineer assists the fireman, to a great extent? 

Mr. Martin: Well, the engineer used always to assist the fireman over the divis- 
ion before they put on a second fireman on that hill ; he found it necessary to do 
that, to keep from having a failure on the road. 

Mr. Carter: The engineer went back and shoveled coal down for you, did he not? 

Mr. Martin : He did, before they were equipped with coal passers. 

Mr. Carter: And before they had mechanical grate shakers, it required his as- 
sistance to shake the grates after the coal was clinkered on the grates? 

Mr. Martin : With this type of engine, they came from the works equipped 
with mechanical grate shakers. With other types, I have had the engineers assist 
me in shaking the grates. 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 239 

Mr. Carter : Then it may be said that the Santa Fe, at least on this engine and 
on this division, have done all they can to assist the fireman? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir ; they have done everything in their power, I think, to 
relieve the fireman of work. 

Mr. Carter : Do you believe that the same thing is practicable on other railroads 
and on other locomotives? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, I think it is. 

Mr. Carter : Do you believe it is profitable to the Santa Fe railroad to have 
done this? 

Mr. Martin: I believe it is, or they would not continue to % equip engines with 
these appliances. 

Mr. Carter: It makes the engine more efficient, does it not? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, it does. 

Mr. Carter : Do you know anything about the superheater engines ? 

Mr. Martin : This engine that I am firing has both a superheater and reheater, 
and I have fired several superheater engines, and have fired some saturated steam 
engines; but most of my firing has been done on superheater engines. 

Mr. Carter : Have you discovered that when superheater engines are loaded to 
their full capacity that they burn as much coal as a saturated engine would under 
the same circumstances? 

Mr. Martin : I believe they do. 

Mr. Carter : Is it not a fact, Mr. Martin, that any new engine burns less coal 
than an old engine; I mean by that, a new engine, in perfect mechanical condition, 
and compared with an engine, perhaps the same engine, after the flues become 
scaled and mud settles in the crown sheets more or less and the valves blow ; is 
there not a great difference in the amount of coal consumed between an engine in 
new or good mechanical condition and an engine which has been in service for 
some time? 

Mr. Martin : Oh, yes. 

Mr. Carter : About what percentage of coal do you think would be the dif- 
ference? 

Mr. Martin : Well, if there were bad blows past the valve rings it might run 
up as high as 25 or 30 per cent, and other defects, slightly smaller per cents. 

Mr. Carter : Then a superheater engine, when it is tested out in perfect me- 
chanical condition is hardly representative, so far as coal consumption is concerned, 
as compared with what that engine will burn after it gets in more or less de- 
fective condition? 

Mr. Martin : No, sir, it is not. 

Mr. Carter : Is it not a fact that all locomotives get in a more or less defective 
condition before they are taken in for an overhauling? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir; they usually let them go about as long as they can and 
not result in serious delays. I do not know just what the mileage is between shop- 
pings on our division, but I know that I have put this engine, that I am now 
firing, in the shop twice, and at one time before they took her in it got to where 
it was almost impossible for us to get over the road with her, without a failure. 

Mr. Carter : You used much more coal, didn't you ? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, because I think she had in her mileage, and was pretty 
badly worn. 



240 APPENDIX O 

Mr. Carter: And yet she was a superheater? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: And had a reheater? 

Mr. Martin : And a reheater also. 

Air. Carter: What has been the effect of this increased tonnage on your stand- 
ing on the firemen's seniority list? 

Mr. Martin: Well, it has crowded me back considerably. 

Mr. Carter: How many firemen are now older than you on the firemen's senior- 
ity list? 

Mr. Martin: I have a seniority list here (producing paper). I found an old 
seniority list dated August 29, 1911; that is as far back as I could get one; and 
on that seniority list I was twenty-first man in firing service, and there were sixty- 
one men firing. On December 1, 1914, there were thirty-eight men in firing service 
and I was the twenty-third man. 

Mr. Carter: Do you mean that these thirty-eight men are doing as much work 
for the company, practically, as the larger number did, because of the increased 
tonnage ? 

Mr. Martin: I would not hardly say that they were doing as much; of course. 
business has decreased a little; but I think most of it lias been caused by increased 

tonnage. 

Mr. Carter: How many years do you think it will lie before you will have a 
regular engine to run; that is, before you are a real engineer? 

Mr. Martin: Oh, that would be pretty hard to judge. I would say probably 
ten years, the way things are going now, or maybe longer. 

Mr. Carter : From your knowledge of the experience of others, before these 
big engines came, did firemen have to fire as long as they do now before they had 
engines to run ? 

Mr. Martin: No, sir; promotion was fairly quick on our road before the Mallets 
were installed there. 

Mr. Carter: How many firemen have been laid off on your seniority district 
because of fluctuations in business, perhaps, and increased tonnage of these huge 
locomotives? 

Mr. M artin : (Well, there have been very few laid off, but the last three or four 
years, firemen have been quitting, and a few getting discharged, and they have not 
been hiring as many to take their places, and they have gradually allowed tin- 
seniority list to dwindle down in that way, until now. on the firemen's seniority 
list proper, we carry 31 firemen, and two of them are cut off — no. 30 firemen, and 
there are two cut off, which leaves 28 firemen carried on the seniority list. Vnd 
on this seniority list of August 29, 1911, there were 61 men on it. The difference 
between the 28 men on the list and the 38 men we have in tiring service is made 
up from the fact that we have ten engineers in firing service. 

Mr. Carter: You said that these firemen are quitting. Why do they quit? Are 
they dissatisfied with the work they have to do. or the pay they receive? 

Mr. Martin: Before the assistance was given and the second fireman was put 
on these engines, they used to quit quite rapidly, on account of the hard physical 
duty that they were forced to perform on those large engines; but since the second 
fireman has been put on, there have not been so many quitting, and they have been 
staying a little better. 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 241 

Mr. Carter: Did I understand you to say, back in 1911 you were number 21 on 
the list? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr: Carter : And in 1914 you are number 23 ? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : At that rate how long will it be before you are number one ? 

Mr. Martin : It will be quite a while. 

Mr. Carter : When firemen are cut off on account of depression in business or 
from any other cause, do they give firemen employment in the roundhouse or 
elsewhere? 

Mr. Martin : They try to. I know of one or two cases where they have been 
forced to cut the man off temporarily. You understand, our business fluctuates on 
the Pecos Division; some seasons it is better than others, and we have to reduce 
the board — 

Mr. Carter: They try to do the best they can? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, the company do the best they can with the men they 
cut off. 

Mr. Carter : But it would be impossible for them to provide this work ; I mean 
to say when they cut the road force, they probably cut the shop force; is not that 
true? 

Mr. Martin : I think it is the case — I could not say about the shop force. 

Mr. Carter : If you were cut off the list now, after all this service, after having 
fulfilled every requirement of a fireman, could you get employment again? Suppose 
you were dismissed, we will say or suppose you were dismissed and came back to 
get another job there and made application, could you get back? 

Mr. Martin: Do you mean if I was discharged from the service? 

Mr. Carter : I mean to say, are you tall enough and big enough to fire an engine 
on the Santa Fe road now? Does it not require a taller and heavier man than 
you now to get a job ? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, they have the height and weight limit now. I could not 
get on now, if I were out of the service. They did not apply that ruling at the 
time I hired out. 

Mr. Carter : What would that indicate, that it now takes a bigger fireman or a 
longer fireman to do the work? 

Mr. Martin : I think it would, yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter: What about your wages for the past year? Can you tell me the 
average? I will not bother you to look up the records, but can you tell the average? 

Mr. Martin: About ninety some odd dollars, (per month.) 

Mr. Carter: About ninety some odd dollars during the year 1914? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Carter : How about 1913 ? 

Mr. Martin: It was about the same, I think; probably a little bit different one 
way or the other. 



242 APPENDIX o 

Mr. Carter: Did you work pretty steadily? 

Mr. Martin: Well, I worked all that I thought I was physically able. I have 
the average here for 1911, which was $102.19; that was the average monthly wage. 
In 1912 it was $100.49. And my time book for 1913 I have misplaced, but for 1914, 
that is the first eleven months, it was $91.14. Now, you will understand that this 
average was figured from my time book and not from the amount of checks that 
I get from the company. Sometimes it would vary a few cents, and the average 
figure from the company's payrolls might be two or three cents one way or the 
other, but it will not vary more than that. 

Mr. Carter : Haven't you made more money in the recent past than you wanted 
to make — didn't your firemen and perhaps your engineers complain that you had 
to work too much in the last few months ? 

Mr. Martin: Some time during the early fall, I don't remember just the month 
— I think it was in September — the firemen complained to me that there were not 
enough engines in the pool and that they would like to get another engine cut in ; 
that they were making too much mileage, and myself and the engineers' local 
chairman went to the master mechanic and requested that another engine be cut 
in, and he refused to do it on the ground that the company wanted the engines to 
make 4,200 miles a month if they could. 

Mr. Carter: That was purely an operating matter? 

Mr. Martin : It was an operating matter. I think. Then we requested that he 
cut in another crew and leave the same number of engines in. but he refused on 
the ground that that would be pooling the engines, and the Santa Fe didn't believe 
in pooling engines. 

Mr. Carter : The fact remains that your wages at $91 per month, or whatever 
the wages of the other firemen were, were larger than they would have been had 
you had your way about it? 

Mr. Martin : Some of the fellows had difficulty in laying oft' at the time, but as 
for myself, I cannot say I did. I would lay off and get my rest. I am Local 
Chairman for the Firemen, and I must say that the local officials have always 
treated me very nicely, and when I requested to be off on business, or for any 
other matter, they usually arranged it, if they could, and let me off; but some of 
the other men had difficulty in laying off. 

Mr. Carter : Suppose, in a case you came in and felt so fatigued that you felt 
like you wanted to be in bed for twelve hours, your engine was called out in ten 
hours, and in order to get that additional two hours rest you had to lay off, about 
how much would that two hours rest cost you on account of an extra man being 
on your engine? 

Mr. Martin : I could not take my engine again until it came back to the home 
terminal, where I laid off, so, to get the extra two hours. I would have to lose 262 
miles on my engine. 

Mr. Carter: How much would that amount to? 

Mr. Martin : It would amount to $10.48. 

Mr. Carter : Then, it costs about five dollars an hour for rest, under those cir- 
cumstances? 

Mr. Martin : Yes, sir, under those circumstances, it would. 

Mr. Carter: Isn't it a fact that, because of this expense, men struggle -to ga out 
again, to prevent losing so much money? 

Mr. Martin: I believe some of them do. 



EDUCATION OF FIREMEN 243 

Mr. Carter : Would it have been a relief to you had there been another engine 
cat into the pool, so you would not have to lay off and lose the trip? 

Mr. Martin: Yes, sir, it would, at the time. 

Mr. Carter: Was it not the practice before and since to do this? 

Mr. Martin : I cannot remember since I have been local chairman there, that 
we ever had any difficulty before in adjusting the number of engines in the pool 
to the wishes of the men. 

Mr. Carter : Then the earnings of yourself and associates and that includes the 
engineers, would probably be higher during this past fall than usual, or rather, I 
won't say than usual, but higher than you wanted them to be? 

Mr. Martin : On some of the men I believe it came out a little higher. Myself, 
I found it necessary to lay off for rest. My engine was making too many miles 
and I had to lay off. 

It must not be understood from the foregoing that any consider- 
able number of locomotives now in the service of the Railroads of 
the United States are equipped with the mechanical devices for 
lightening the labors of firemen, as described by Mr. Martin on the 
Pecos Division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, nor 
must it be understood that on many locomotives, of all in the United 
States, there are any considerable number where the fireman is given 
the assistance of another fireman. 



APPENDIX P 

WHY LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT 
THE PRESENT TIME. 

Reports of inability of certain Railroads to secure white men to fire 
locomotives became numerous during the early part of the year 1917. 
In June, we were informed that because of the scarcity of firemen the 
Baltimore & Ohio, the New York Central Lines West and the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad seemingly through concerted action, had begun the 
employment of negroes as locomotive firemen. 

• With the knowledge of the fact that wherever negroes have been 
employed as firemen the Railroads have availed themselves of their 
presence to deny the wages paid to white firemen, to deny them the 
working conditions accorded to white firemen and to generally depress 
conditions of employment, it was the general opinion of the members 
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen that the 
purpose of the Railroads in thus attempting to supplant white labor with 
negro labor in other than Southeastern states was but the beginning of 
a general attack upon this organization for the purpose of destroying it. 
With this opinion, the attack was met in an aggressive manner, with 
the result that the practice has been abandoned. 

Of course, it was contended by the Railroads that there was no pur- 
pose to reduce the wages and working conditions and standard of living 
of locomotive firemen in other states to that of the negro firemen in 
the Southeastern states, and the reason assigned was that it was impossible 
to secure the services of white men. 

Before it was known that the Railroads would be taken over for opera- 
tion by the Government, and when it was expected that a struggle for 
existence would have to be made by the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
Firemen and Enginemen, because of the attempt to substitute negro 
labor for white labor in the Northern and Western states, preparations 
were made for the fight. Among these preparations was the gathering 
of complete information upon the following matters: 

1. Was it possible for Railroads to secure the services of white men? 

2. If not possible, what were the reasons therefor? 

Under date of November 9th, and December 7th, 1917, question- 
aires were sent out to 763 points in the LTnited States for the purpose 
of securing certain information. One of the most important matters 
covered was the report that, due to resignations, a shortage of firemen 
existed on many roads. Those addressed were requested to state why 
firemen were leaving the service. 

To this inquiry replies were received from 706 points, covering 182 
railroads, in the United States. 

An analysis of these reports, by Railroads, shows that on 115 Rail- 
roads there is no shortage of firemen; that on 67 Railroads more firemen 
are needed. 

On 36 of these 67 roads the shortage is reported to be general. 
244 



WHY FIREMEN ARE NOT AVAILABLE 245 

On 21 of these 67 roads a shortage is reported on some division, or 
divisions, and no shortage on other division, or divisions. 

On 10 of these 67 roads a shortage is reported on some division, or 
divisions, and a surplus on other division, or divisions. 

The reports from these 67 roads ascribe the shortage of firemen, du e 
to resignation, to one or more of the following reasons: 

1. Firemen leaving account inadequate compensation. 

2. Firemen leaving to accept positions with industrial, or other con- 
cerns, where wages are higher and working conditions better. 

3. Firemen leaving account bad condition of the locomotives, poor 
coal, long hours, hard labor. 

Practically all of the 67 roads, where shortages are reported, are 
large properties employing a considerable number of firemen, and using 
large power. 

The following quotations are typical of the replies received: 

"Working conditions and wages are so much better in shipyards, and other places, 
that this company cannot hold firemen." 

"The main trouble in keeping men is the poor working conditions, the heavy expense 
when away from home, and low wages." 

"Firemen refuse to work on yard engine at the low rate of pay ($2.65), because they 
could make much higher wages in other classes of labor." 

"Company has used conductors, switchmen, engineers and yard clerks as yard 
firemen, paying them their standard rate of wages. From Jan. 1st to Nov. 1st, 1917, 
company hired 1,248 new men at Pittsburgh, 1,061 of them resigning during the 
same period." 

"Brakemen are firing switch engines and being paid $3.60 for it. A fireman takes 
the same engine on next trick and gets but $2.50 for it." 

"The only shortage on this division is caused by the low wages in switching and 
hostling service, and by the arduous service in road service, which is due to the poor 
coal used and by the poor condition of the power." 

"There is no need for men being scarce here. The company hires from 3 to 20 fire- 
men, keeps them around from one to two weeks, men making two or three trips, and 
paying their board, then get disgusted and quit. The company does the same thing 
over with the same result and complains of not being able to get men." 

"The reason our division is having trouble to get men and to keep men, is because 
engines are in terribly poor condition, and because coal is very poor it is impossible 
to make them steam. The wages are the poorest of any class of labor around here, 
common labor making from $3.50 to $4.00 a day of eight hours." 

"Company tries to make it appear that they are short of men by ordering all the men 
from one terminal, and then from the other terminal, and vice versa, and continue to 
order crews after all men at the terminal from which they are calling the men are gone, 
leaving the men at the other terminal lay in." 

"While the draft caused a scarcity of firemen here, the low wage is more to blame 
for it, along with the poor conditions. Recently there were 34 firemen hired and only 
4 remained, others found work elsewhere which paid better wages." 

"The bad working conditions and poor pay has produced a scarcity of firemen here. 
Poor coal and tonnage trains make it impossible for a man to fire an engine over this 
division of 116 miles." 

"Owing to rush of business and bad condition of the engines, and that men can get 
better positions elsewhere, it has been hard to keep men enough to take care of the 
work. The officials are so harsh with the student firemen that only a small amount of 
them remain." 

"There is a scarcity of firemen in this locality due to the fact the oil fields, and any 
other industry, is paying better wages with less hardship and less hours." 

"Firemen will not remain on this division on account of the arduous duties in getting 
over the road with the poor grade of coal, excessive tonnage, and long hours on duty." 



246 APPENDIX P 

"Many new men have been hired but after a few days of riding on the power we have, 
together with the coal and working conditions and the low wages paid, they depart. 
Regular men are being worked excessive hours, seven days a week. In order to get 
proper rest and food they are obliged to report sick. A number of regular firemen have 
left the service because they could get more money elsewhere and could live like human 
beings. Congestion of traffic caused by poor condition of the power." 

"Officials claim the drafting of men has produced a scarcity of firemen, but also say 
there are lots of men out of work in Syracuse but they will not fire engines for S2.60 
per day in yard service." 

"The railroad cannot keep firemen on account of small wages paid. They put new 
men in yard service mostly. They get $2.60 a day, and stay about two weeks and then 
resign. 

"Firemen have left the service to accept employment in factories, and some have 
quit firing and entered the service as brakemen on account of the low wages paid 
firemen." 

"Enginemen quitting and laying off account being tired and being sick with colds 
from being on road excessive hours on leaky engines." 

"A number of our firemen are farmer boys and they are quitting and going back to 
the farms." 

"Some men have gone out on student trips, but after seeing the conditions and 
learning the rate of pay, they have quit." 






AEEEKXHX Q 

THE CAUSE OF ALARMING CONDITIONS. 

The conditions of employment of locomotive firemen on many of the 
Railroads have become so intolerable that many thousands of them have 
left the service and have sought employment in other industries where 
conditions of employment are more desirable and where compensation 
makes it possible for a man to properly support his family. The Rail- 
roads have found themselves without adequate labor in the under-paid 
classes of service, to the extent that locomotives have not been repaired 
and great difficulty is found in securing men with whom to operate 
trains. The great congestion of railway traffic which led the Govern- 
ment to take over the roads for temporary operation was the direct 
result of a lack of power and men on many of the Railroads. 

For the past several years, Railroads have refused to pay a sufficient 
wage to men engaged in the shop crafts to retain a sufficient number in 
the service of the Railroads by whom locomotives could be properly 
repaired and maintained in operating condition. 

This policy of refusing to compete with employers in other industries 
in the employment of labor is the direct cause of the deplorable condition 
of the locomotive power today. If the Government is to avail itself of 
locomotives already purchased, some means will have to be found of 
inducing machinists, boiler makers, and other mechanics to return to 
railway shops and, as rapidly as possible, repair the locomotives so as 
to properly move the traffic. 

Not only is this condition found in the railway shops, but in all classes 
of railway service where the wages are low and the working conditions 
are objectionable. 

As best evidence of this, we quote from a circular letter issued by a 
General Superintendent^on one^of the^Eastern Railroads, within the 
recent past, as follows: 

"Unusual conditions make necessary unusual methods of procedure, and it is 
desired to bring to your attention frankly one of the serious conditions confront- 
ing the Railroads today. 

"The demands of war have taken from our ranks many experienced men, whose 
places have had to be filled largely by the inexperienced. In the past six months 

there have been employees on the > Railroad, 8,200 men, while during 

the same period 6,700 men have left the service. On some divisions more firemen 
and brakemen have been employed during this period than are required to com- 
pletely fill the roster. The result has been apparent to all in the increasing diffi- 
culty of properly maintaining power, equipment, tracks, buildings, etc., and in the 
unusual inconvenience, discomfort, and hardships to the men who are endeavoring 
to do their 'bit.' 

"Men have deserted their trains on the road; men have refused to respond to 
calls; men have laid off in time of congestion to suit their personal convenience. 
Each of these cases causes delays in the movement of cars, not only in the trains 
directly involved, but to following trains as well. Congestion in yards has in- 
creased . until at the. present time thousands of . cars are standing . still on the 
Railroad that are badly needed at destination to supply fuel,, provis- 

247 



248 APPENDIX^ 

ions and materials for the successful conduct of the vyar. Blast furnaces, mills 
and factories, working on rush war material, are shutting down for lack of fuel 
and raw materials. Hundreds of thousands of men are being deprived of work 
on this account, and many communities are subjected to acute suffering because 
of lack of coal. 

"No inconsiderable part of this condition arises from the loss of transportation 
due to thoughtless and indifferent employees. I earnestly solicit your co-operation 

in every way possible to bring to the attention of all men on the 

Railroad the unusual responsibility devolving upon them, and the fact that one 
shirker on the Railroad does probably harm to hundreds of others. 

"We have every evidence that the actions of indifferent and careless men arc 
not approved by the great majority, but more decided action is necessary to bring 
home to the offenders the seriousness of their offences. Not from any selfish 

interest, or from the interest of the Railroad alone, because Railroads 

are being operated for the general good without thought of individual profit, but 
in the interest of our Country and the great struggle in which we are involved, 
can we not count upon every man to indicate his disapproval of indifference in 
no uncertain measure? Will you men who hold the respect and confidence of your 
fellow workers assist us in seeing that the slacker gets his just deserts? 

"I am requesting Superintendents to go over this matter with you to decide 
upon such measures as may be considered advisable for an active campaign in 
order that Railroads may fulfill their very considerable part in the great fight for 
Democracy." 

The purpose of the foregoing communication, addressed to the re 
presentatives of the employees, is apparently to relieve the Railroads 
of the conditions complained of. While, among railway employees who 
have suffered most, there does appear to have been a great depression in 
their morale, the Railroads, by their past policies, are solely to blame 
therefor. We should remember that but for the unbearable conditions 
suffered under a Russian Absolute Monarchy there would have been no 
Bolsheviki. 

When this letter was received, a man in actual engine service was 
called in by us and asked if he could answer why such a condition ex- 
isted, if it did exist? In reply, he briefly recited conditions, well known 
to operating railroad officials, but in order to ascertain, at first hand, 
why such a condition existed, if it did exist, he was delegated to make a 
personal investigation of the situation at Youngstown, Ohio. This 
city was sleeted because it was his place of residence, and there was no 
time to make a general investigation. 

The report of this special investigator is herewith presented, as 
follows : 

As instructed by you, I have devoted the past three weeks to a personal investigation 
of conditions confronting locomotive enginemen at Youngstown, Ohio. I do not find 
that locomotive firemen are as negligent of their duties, or are as thoughtless and as 
indifferent, as is indicated in the communication that you have handed me, and which 
I understand was to be the basis of this investigation. 

I do find, however, that large numbers of men recently engaged as locomotive fire- 
men, especially those employed to take the places of the older firemen who have been 
promoted to engineers, and who have entered military service, in many instances, 
positively refuse to work at the occupation of a locomotive fireman under the existing 
rates of wages and conditions of employment. 

In conducting this investigation I called upon a large number of employees, some 
who had left the service of the company, a few who had signified their intention of doing 
so unless their conditions were bettered, and upon many still remaining in the servica 
who condemned the low wages, had knowledge of their ability to secure higher compen- 



CAUSE OF ALARMING CONDITIONS 249 

sation and better conditions outside of railway service, and who complained of the 
almost unbearable conditions and extremely hard and unnecessary labor, due to failure 
on the part of the company to keep the power in proper condition, and to supply fuel 
of even fair quality for steam purposes, thereby causing great delays on the road, due 
to leaky engines, frequent cleaning of fires, and physical exhaustion of the firemen. 

I cite the following quotations and statements as typical of letters and statements 
to me: 

One switch engineer had three firemen on an eight-hour shift. The first one worked 
a few hours; complained of wages and conditions, and laid off. After more than an 
hour's delay a second fireman appeared, with the information he had been sent to fire 
the engine. After putting in one fire he asked the engineer what compensation he would 
receive for eight hours' work of that character. He was advised he would receive 
$2.60. He threw the scoop down, put on his coat, and left. After a considerable period 
of time another fireman reported and finished the day. 

On January 24, 1918, a fireman was called to leave Brier Hill for Meadville, a distance 
of 58 miles. Upon arriving at the roundhouse considerable time was consumed striv- 
ing to get up a full head of steam, and failing to secure more than 140 pounds, a report 
was made to the Foreman. The Foreman examined the engine and said he was quite 
sure there was a leak somewhere, but he could not tell just where. The engine was 
sent out notwithstanding that condition, and the fireman who had failed to get up 
steam when standing still laid off sick before departure of the train. Another fireman 
was called, and he, with the assistance of the engineer, succeeded in getting the train 
to Sharon, 14 miles distant, when the second fireman asked for relief, he having injured 
his wrist digging frozen coal out of the tank. The company furnished a roundhouse 
hostler who had been on duty practically 24 hours, and after consuming considerable 
time striving to get the engine hot while standing still, he became disgusted, got off the 
engine and went home. Another fireman was then furnished, and he being unable to get 
up steam, the engineer explained the condition to the train despatcher, who ordered 
him to give up his train and return to Youngstown, light. This engineer had four 
firemen and consumed 14 hours and 30 minutes making a trip of 14 miles with the train, 
and returning the same distance with light engine. 

On January 20, 1918, a fireman was called to make a trip of 27 miles on a branch , 
The train was made up of seven loads and 14 empties, about one-half of the tonnage 
usually hauled over that territory. He states the coal was so bad that the engine began 
to leak and the steam dropped from 200 pounds to 90 pounds; that they stopped five 
times within eight miles for the purpose of getting up steam. The engineer fired the 
engine on several occasions, but met with no greater success than did the fireman. 
Upon their arrival at a water plug twenty-two miles from the terminal, the engine was 
leaking so badly they were compelled to knock the fire. Another engine and crew 
was sent out, and the dead engine and crew towed back to Youngstown. The time 
consumed on this trip from the time he left Youngstown until he returned thereto 
(towed in) was twenty-nine hours. This fireman states that trips of this nature have 
everything to do with the determination of firemen to secure employment where the 
working conditions will justify the statement that they are earning their living as 
human beings should. 

On December 3, 1917, a yard crew working in Niles Yard was called upon to take a 
train from the Niles Yard to Brier Hill Yard. It was understood the train consisted 
of fifty loads. It later developed there were more than sixty loads in the train. The 
entire train was eastbound freight that had stood in the yard until it had frozen up. 
The conductor was informed by the engineer that the engine he had would not handle 
the train, whereupon the conductor called up the Dispatcher, who told him (the con- 
ductor) to "tie onto the train and get it out of the yard." The engine was coupled 
onto the train, and, with the assistance of three additional engines, at the expiration of 
1 hour and 25 minutes the train was started. The engine was leaking so badly that 
after the train had been started and dragged to the top of the hill, a distance of from 
one-half to three-quarters of a mile, it was found necessary to stop and blow up, which 
operation, due to poor coal, consumed so much time that two important passenger 
trains were delayed before the train could be put away in Brier Hill Yard. Following 
the usual custom, reports covering delay to these passenger trains were demanded by 
the officials. This engineman avers that unless conditions change it will be his purpose 
to seek employment outside of Railroad service. 

An engineer in the Youngstown Yards writes: "You are familiar with the conditions 
as to work on the job where I am now, and you know how many street crossings and 



250 APPENDIX Q 

cars, automobiles and pedestrians one has to watch, besides looking out for the care of 
the engine and the work. If I had an engine which was any way right it would help - 
matters a whole lot, but the brakes are poor and the lever handles so hard you have to 
brace yourself. every time you want to reverse the engine. This engine serves two or 
three tricks, and you can imagine the condition of the fire. The blower is on most of 
the time and the fireman is in the tank most of the time trying to get down enough coal 
to keep her going. I'll bet we have had to clean the fire for the last fifteen shifts. 
When darkness overtakes us the headlights are so poor you can hardly see, and often 
they go out for want of oil. It keeps you busy trying to fix something to keep going, 
let alone do the work. The company seems to have forgotten we are humans. I have 
spent the best time of my life here giving the company 17 years service, and have never 
seen things run the way they are trying to run them now. If they do not make some 
improvements before long I will have to hunt for something else as I cannot stand it. 
I value my health and am not going to ruin it, as I can find something else not so hard 
and carrying so much responsibility, which will provide fully as much money." 

A fireman describes service on the same locomotive from January 22 to 27, 1918, 
inclusive, stating that during all of this time the air apparatus operating the firedoor was 
disconnected, or out of order, compelling him to handle the door by hand during the 
entire period, notwithstanding the fact it had been repeatedly reported at the ter- 
minals. He states that account the poor coal furnished he is required to handle prac- 
tically double the amount that would be necessary were fair steaming coal substituted; 
that it is almost impossible to maintain a steam pressure in excess of 150 pounds. He 
states he has been firing for two years and that on several recent trips he was prac- 
tically exhausted upon reaching his terminal, and was thoroughly disgusted with rail- 
roading. 

A fireman states that long hours of service, each trip, have so sapped his energy that 
he has decided that unless there is an improvement he will leave railroad service, as he 
cannot stand the work. On one run he was on duty sixteen hours on eight consecutive 
trips, and on laying off at the completion of the eighth trip was taken out of service and 
compelled to report to the Road Foreman of Engines, who insisted upon him signing 
a statement to the effect he would not lay off again, whereupon he was returned to 
service. He states he was recently called to leave at a given hour and upon reporting 
at the roundhouse was advised that the train had been set back two hours account 
engine not being ready. At the expiration of this time he left on the run, arriving at his 
terminal more than fifteen hours after time of actual departure. He sums up the 
situation as follows: Bad condition of power; bad coal; unnecessary work account 
cleaning fires; and long hours in service, is more than I am willing to put up with. 

A switch engineer, who has worked for the Erie Railroad for about thirty-five years, 
stated on January 20, 1917, that the conditions were getting so bad he did not know what 
he was going to do; that he needed the work very much but because of the difficulty of 
handling the reverse levers, and other hard work due to the poor condition of the power, 
which labor he states he is unable to perform, he feels he will not be able to longer follow 
railroading. 

Another engineer advises that it is his desire to secure an automobile truck and quit 
railroading, as most of the engines are leaking steam so badly it is almost impossible to 
work with them, as one cannot see account of steam; that on one occasion in the month 
of January, 1918, the engine leaked steam to such an extent he could not see signals 
from the front end, and found it necessary to have one of the switchmen ride the foot- 
board to prevent him running into open switches or cars, as by so placing the man he 
would be able to drop off and put himself in a position where his signal could be seen. 

On January 19, 1918, one of the switchmen on the house shift at Voungstown quit 
before he completed his day's work account engine leaking steam to such an extent he 
could not see the footboard of the engine in time to safely get on at a speed of from six 
to ten miles per hour. He reported the condition of the engine to his conductor a 
number of times without result, and after working six hours on this day walked off the 
job, stating as his reason for quitting that it was not safe to work on an engine where one 
could not see what he was doing when he attempted to get on the footboard. 

On January 24, 1918, an engineer in the service of the company for about seven 
years stated to me that he had just returned from the Brier Hill Steel Company, where 
he had secured a position as fireman on one of their locomotives; that he intended to 
quit on the Erie Railroad, and stated as his reason that the work at the Steel 



CAUSE OF ALARMING CONDITIONS 251 

Company, was- far more desirable than the work on the Railroad, and that the engines ; 
were in better condition. 

On January 24, 1918, a switch engineer and fireman stated -to me that due ta poor 
coa. they were compelled to clean their fire every shift. 

On January 24, 1918, an engineer stated to me he had recently been called to make a 
trip out of Cleveland to Brier Hill on a locomotive that had just come out of the shop 
after being overhauled, and was turned over to him without first, as is the custom, 
having been broken in. He consumed 13 hours and 45 minutes with 11 cars on a trip 
of 65 miles, the deiay being due to hot boxes and hot pins. 

An engineer, thirty-seven years in the service of the Erie Railroad, states that on 
about October 20, 1917, he had three engines in one day, all three of them unfit to run. 
After working one engine a couple of hours the main rod strap broke. Another engine 
was furnished him, and within a very short period the reverse lever was broken. Upon 
being given the third engine he found it required so much exertion to handle the reverse 
lever that he was physically exhausted at the end of the shift. He states he was so 
disgusted with the condition of the power, and the wages he was receiving, that he 
tendered his resignation to the Road Foreman of Engines. That gentleman, however, 
refused to accept the resignation and promised him if he would return to work he would 
furnish him with a regular engine. The regular engine was furnished for about two 
weeks, when conditions became as bad as ever. On December 12, 1917, the engine he 
was using required so much of his strength to handle the reverse lever that before the 
completion of his day's work he fell to the floor of the cab exhausted. He called up 
the shop and advised them if they again sent down an engine for him to use and the 
reverse lever handled badly, they should send an engineer with it. On the morning 
of December 13, 1917, an engine was furnished him and upon trying the reverse lever 
he found he could not throw it over. He then called the fireman to assist him and the 
fireman could not handle it. This engineer took his coat and bucket, went to the Road 
Foreman's office; stated to him he was unable to stand the work any longer and that he 
resigned right there. He subsequently applied to the Brier Hill Steel Company for a 
position, and after a time secured one as traffic man, receiving more money for same 
than he received as a locomotive engineer, in addition to which he has all Sundays and 
Holidays off. 

An engineer stated that due to steam leaks in the cab of engines, he had caught a 
severe cold and was in such condition he could not speak above a whisper for about two 
weeks. At the time of the interview he stated he would not go out again until the 
weather got warmer, as he feared he would experience a recurrence. He added that 
this would account, in some measure, for the shortage of enginemen in that territory. 

In the Hazleton Yards, Youngstown, Ohio, investigation disclosed the fact that due 
to the low rate of pay ($2.60 for eight hours) it was almost impossible to secure sufficient 
firemen to man the locomotives. As a result practically half the men called to perform 
this service were switchmen, who were paid switchmen's wages; viz.: $3.50 and $3.70 
for day and night work, respectively. The concensus of opinion of the local officials 
on that Railroad seems to be, if statements of employees in and about the roundhouse 
can be accepted, that if the company would pay firemen as much as they paid switch- 
men when switchmen fired the locomotives, they would experience no difficulty in 
securing as many switch firemen as they could use. 

In conversation with a number of engineers in the yards of another Railroad at 
Youngstown, Ohio, the statement was repeatedly made that practically all of the 
Americans were leaving and going elsewhere where wages were higher and conditions 
better; that the Pennsylvania Company was hiring many foreigners, being unable to 
secure Americans to fire locomotives for the wages paid. 

Another source of dissatisfaction on the Erie Railroad at Youngstown, Ohio, 
is the fact that the officials are not observing the Adamson Eight-Hour Law. Yard 
crews are being worked on a ten-hour basis, and overlapping. The men take the posi- 
tion that some one should force the Company to observe the law and not work the men 
in yard service longer than eight hours per day, basing their contention upon the fact 
that the condition of the locomotives, the poor coal, both requiring unusual and un- 
necessary expenditure of physical energy, make longer hours of service unbearable. 

One engineer, assigned to a regular run in the Youngstown Yard, furnishes a state- 
ment in support of his contention that during a period of thirty-two days he had six- 



252 



APPENDIX Q 



teen firemen, three of whom quit within that period, all assigning as a reason for leaving 
the service the low wage paid switch firemen. 

On January 5, 1918, I interviewed a chairman of one of the employees' organizations 
who informed me that due to the shortage of men on the Meadville and Mahoning 
Divisions, the superintendents of these divisions called in the chairmen of the four 
organizations and requested them to go among the men and strive to have them come 
to work. The chairman stated that practically every man interviewed admitted that 
he needed the work and would be glad to work if decent conditions obtained, but they 
could not take a chance, for $2.60 per day, with the bad power and poor coal, subject- 
ing themselves to all sorts of exposure, usually resulting in their being confined to their 
beds for a considerable period of time. 

Having the knowledge that a number of yard employees had left railroad service and 
accepted positions as engineers, firemen and switchmen with the Brier Hill Steel Com- 
pany, and the Carnegie Steel Company, at Youngstown, and being personally 
acquainted with most of them, I called upon some of them for the purpose of ascer- 
taining what inducements these companies had to offer experienced railroad men that 
would justify their leaving the service of the Railroads at Youngstown, forfeiting years 
of seniority, and accept service with the steel corporations. 

Every man interviewed dwelt upon the fact that the Steel Companies kept their 
power up; kept their engines clean; furnished a superior grade of coal; provided ample 
lubricating oil, and paid wages in excess of those paid by the Railroads, all of which 
made the positions much more desirable. 

My seven years experience as a locomotive fireman and twelve years experience as 
a locomotive engineer, prompts me to the conclusion that where- the coal is better; 
where the engines are kept in good shape (few steam leaks and the machinery given 
proper attention), it means for the fireman less coal handled, few fires to be cleaned, 
for the engineer, a reverse lever that can be handled without unnecessary expenditure 
of physical energy and less worry account faulty machinery. For both engineer and 
fireman, less exposure to inclement weather and steam infested cab conditions, which 
makes it possible for enginemen to continue at work, giving the best there is in them at 
all times, and giving it cheerfully. 

A comparison of the wages paid yard men by the Brier Hill and Carnegie plants, 
with the wages paid by the Erie, Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads, at 
Youngstown, for similar service, follows: 





Brier Hill Steel 
Company- 


Carnegie Steel 
Company 


Erie, Pennsylvania 

and Baltimore & 

Ohio B ailroads 




Rate per hour 


Rate per hour 


Rate per hour 




58Xc 

40Kc 
52Kc 

43Kc 


58c 
40c 
52c 

43c 


5lXc 

32 Kc 

47Mc (day) 
50c (night) 

43Kc (day) 
46\c (night) 











CAUSE OF ALARMING CONDITIONS 



253 



Youngstown bank announcements under date of January 11, 1918, show a wage 
distribution for 1917, of $65,491,219.00, as against $28,401,334.00 for 1914. The same 
announcement contains the statement that iron and steel workers at Youngstown 
received increases during 1915, 1916 and 1917, approximating sixty per cent. 

- An investigation covering wage increases for machinists employed at the United 
Engineering Company, and laborers employed at the Republic Iron and Steel Com- 
pany, follows: 





Year 


Rate 

per hour 


Machinists 

Laborers 


1913 
1915 
1917 

1915 
1916 

1916 (May) 

1917 (May) 
1917 (October) 


35 to 38 cents 
45 to 48 cents 
60 to 65 cents 

19Kc 

22Kc 
27c 
30c 
33c 



An investigation made by me at Youngstown for the purpose of ascertaining increases 
for carpenters employed at that point discloses that in May, 1914, carpenters' wages 
were 50 cents per hour, with time and one-half for overtime. In 1916 the hourly rate 
was increased to 60 cents, and in 1917, to 63 cents, or an increase in three years of 26 
per cent. Representatives of the Carpenters' Union advise that, beginning May 1, 
1918, the hourly rate will be 75 cents per hour, and double time for overtime. 

The Park Commissioner of the City of Youngstown advises that during 1916 and 
1917 the wages of laborers had been increased from $1.90 to $3.25, an increase of over 
71 per cent. 

An investigation made by me for the purpose of determining increases granted "pud- 
dlers" in the steel plants at Youngstown shows that at the beginning of the War, $5.50 
a ton was the prevailing rate. Under date of January 1, 1918, a new scale, $14.30 per 
ton, became effective. This represents an increase per ton for "puddlers" of 160 
per cent. 

The Youngstown Telegram, under date of January 20, 1918, states: 

"The increase for sheet and tinplate workers under the wage scale in force 
during 1917 was the highest in the history of the trade for twelve months. 
Wages of sheet mill rollers average from $27 to $30 per day, state conservative 
managers. Heaters, roughers, catchers, matchers, and doublers have had 
their wages increased proportionately." 

The Second Article of the Agreement between the Coal Operators and the District 
Executive Board for Hocking Valley Sub-District 1, of District No. 6, provides in- 
creases for day labor and monthly men, from 75 cents to 1 dollar and 40 cents per day. 
The Article reads: 

"Second — That all day labor and monthly men except trappers and other 
boys be advanced $1.40 per day. Trappers to be advanced 75 cents per day. 
Boys now being paid more than $1.90 a day and less than men's wages shall 
be advanced $1.00 per day." 



APPENDIX R. 

STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES AS TO IMPERATIVE 
NEED FOR HIGHER PAY. 

Boston, Mass., November 21, 1917. 
Mr. W. S. Carter, 

President, B. L. F. & E., 
Cleveland, Ohio. 
Dear Sir and Bro. : — 

I hereby submit copy of statements, of which I have the original, from 
firemen and hostlers on the Boston & Maine Railroad, setting forth their 
reasons why an increase in wages is necessary at this time, also showing 
without any question of a doubt, that immediate action is imperative. 

PORTLAND DIVISION. 

Portsmouth, Nov. 20, 1917. 

While I do not expect a statement of my financial condition to bring tears to 
the eyes of the capitalist managers, or even secure their consent to a slight wage 
increase so long as we, as a group, show such docile submission to the unjust 
wages and conditions, in particular, the two terminal runs, as are being imposed 
upon us in this period of high prices, yet unless a substantial increase is made 
in the near future, as an individual I shall be forced to change my employment 
in order to obtain a living for my family. 

After 11 years and 2 months' service as a fireman, the best paying run I can get 
putting up at my home terminal, is a combination passenger and local freight, 
$2.90 rate and averaging about one hour's overtime with Sundays and holidays 
out. With all our attempts to keep down expenses, by entirely substituting oil for 
butter and partially substituting rice for potatoes, and eliminating pastry and all 
extras, our raw groceries for myself, wife and two children, aged 5 and 8, in- 
creased from $297.82 for 45 weeks last year to $385.79 for the same period this 
year. Coal has advanced $1.50 per ton, milk 4 cents a quart, and nearly everything 
else double or more. By steadily working, sick or well, keeping roomers, and 
denying ourselves clothes and recreation, I have met my obligations so far, but 
with only one ton of coal and broke every pay day, the winter does not promise 
much in this business, unless we can obtain something nearer to a common 
laborer's pay. 

Fred B. Nelson, 170 Bartlett St. 

33 Belknap St., Dover, N. H. 
Nov. 19, 1917. 
My reasons for wanting an increase in pay. 

Wages for October, 1917 $60.00 

Living expenses for October, 1917. 

Rent $10.00 

Fuel 3.50 

Brotherhood dues 2.30 

Furniture insurance 50 

Groceries, milk, gas, clothing, medicine. . 45.00 

Total $61.30 

Unpaid bills. 

Doctor $19.00 

Clothing 3.50 

Furniture 5.00 

Masonic dues 3.00 

Church dues 2.00 

Total $32.50 

Lerov McDonald. 
254 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 255 



Dover, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 
In my claim for raise in pay on account of the high cost of living," I have a 
wife and two children and to make both ends, meet on $19.00 a week, which I 
receive, it can't be done. I am in need of an overcoat but do not see any way 
to get it unless somebody gets stuck. I have not got my coal in yet and if things 
keep on, I will have to buy it by the basket instead of by the ton. I have not been 
able to get money enough ahead to have a vacation for three years, and by 
working every day, have barely managed to get a living. 

I. Lockwood, 681 Central Ave. 



November, 1917. 

I have been firing from about the first of June the Amesbury and Newbury- 
port extra, which pays one day at the rate of $3.15 a day, and sometimes about 
30 minutes overtime. I find I am going in the hole every week. I own my own 
house but have to pay money into the Co-operative Bank, namely, $8.20 per month. 

This fall I had to draw $100 from the Savings Bank to pay my taxes and for 
coal put into the cellar, and don't know what I will be able to do in the spring 
about shingling my house, which must be done. 

I think my wife is a very fine and good housekeeper, making all the children's 
clothes, of which I have three, most of which are made out of clothes given to 
her. As for myself, I have not had any new clothes for four years and I look 
so seedy I am ashamed to go out in company. 

We buy meat but once a week and fish once and have to fill in on most any- 
thing we can get the rest of the time. I have been firing 12 years and 8 months, 
long enough to learn 4 different trades, any one of which I could be getting much 
more than I do here. W. B. Clement, Merrimac, Mass. 



Lawrence, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
Replying to your question as to whether my income meets my living expenses, 
I can truthfully say it does not, and if it was not for the outside help I receive, 
I would be going behind weekly. Following is a true statement of my weekly 
expenses : 

Pay, per week $15.00 

Rent $3.75 

Gas 50 

Groceries 8.00 

Insurance 2.70 

Milk 96 

Clothes 1.50 

$17.41 

As you see, my expenses are $2.4! more each week than I make. 
Outstanding bills : 

Hospital $35.60 

Doctor 7.00 

1 month milk 3.66 

$46.26 

Carl W. L. Hendrick, 123 Exeter St. 



November 17, 1917. 

Your notice: of a special meeting of Lodge 485, B. L. F. & E., received, and 
understand.it is to get the opinion of the men in regard to making an application 
for an increase in pay. 

I would like to be with you and express myself verbally but I have a chance 
to work and- in view of the price of provisions and fuel, I consider it my duty to 
my family to earn all I can. You will use this as my record as desiring a sub- 
stantial increase in pay. Edwin T. Harvey, 13 Poplar St., Danvers, Mass. 



256 APPENDIX R 

Boston, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
Here is a list of bills I owe: 

Hospital $25.00 

Flour and grain 15.50 

Produce 5.15 

$45.65 

I work from 6:14 a. no. to 7:15 p. m., $22.80 per week, raise a lot of my own 
stuff, have a cheap rent and I still owe money. E. H. Whitaker. 



November 19, 1917. 

1 have been firing about 11 years, 7 months, and all summer have had a run 
which paid me $2.45 per day of 100 miles. I got overtime enough so that I got 
about $3.05 or $18.30 a week. (No Sunday work on this run.) 

I have a wife and three children, a boy aged 7 years going to school and two 
younger girls. We live in three rooms up one flight and one room up two flights, 
a tenement that very few families of our size would put up with. I pay $10.00 
a month for these rooms, a very unusual rent nowadays. We take a quart of 
milk a day with extra once in a while at 12 cents a quart amounts to nearly $4.00 
a month. The rent and milk are the only bills we pay monthly, the rest is cash 
or go without. When we get fuel, I have to pay a little when I can and it is a 
long time before it is all paid for. My wife makes nearly all the clothes for the 
children and most of her own when she has any new ones, which is very seldom. 
Only for this fact, I should be much more in debt than I am. I bought myself 
a second hand suit of clothes 3 years ago for $8.00 and am still wearing it for 
best. A kind trainman gave me two pairs of pants about the same time. Xo 
money in sight for more. My wife and children shall have theirs first, and I am 
sorry they can't have more when our neighbors have so much more than they do. 
We do not waste a single thing yet I have had to take money out of the bank, 
besides $30 back pay, and am still in debt $10.00 for coal and $46 to the doctor. 

We couldn't buy a Liberty Bond as our neighbors did, because we couldn't pay 
for it. I defy anyone to do better than we have with the same amount of money. 
I have always sent my widowed mother a little money once in a while until the 
past year I couldn't send her any. I carry $1,500 insurance and my wife carries 
$400, which I consider a necessity. 

You may use this letter whenever or wherever you wish and I am ready to 
back any statement herein. F. Ainsworth, 138 High St., Reading, Mass. 



November 15, 1917. 
In reply to your request for a statement of what h has cost me to live since 

\pril and what my income has been for each week, April 8th to November 10th 

inclusive : 

Expense Income 

April 8 to 14 $18.46 $15.50 

April 15 to 21 16.55 17.50 

April 22 to 28 17.69 15.00 

April 29 to Mav 5 14.47 17.50 

May 6 to 12 14.77 15.00 

May 13 to 19 20.90 15.00 

May 20 to 26 16.20 17.50 

Mav 27 to June 2 15.85 15.00 

June 3 to 9 17.15 17.50 

Tune 10 to 16 16.64 15.00 

June 17 to 23 17.54 15.00 

June 24 to 30 ". 53.40 17.50 

July 1 to 7 14.04 15.00 

July 8 to 14 14.89 15.00 

hilv 15 to 21 19.19 17.50 

July 22 to 28 18.76 15.00 

• July 29 to Any 4 16.30 17.50 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 257 

August 5 to 11 17.95 15.00 

August 12 to 18 19.72 15.00 

August 19 to 25 16.25 17.50 

August 26 to September 1 12.90 15.00 

September 2 to 8 19.90 15.00 

September 9 to 15-. 13.19 17.50 

September 16 to 22 33.08 15.00 

September 23 to 29 34.15 17.50 

September 30 to October 6 33.57 12.50 

October 7 to 13 35.30 17.50 

October 14 to 20 49.85 15.00 

October 21 to 27 35.05 15.00 

October 28 to November 3 14.40 15.00 

November 4 to 10 16.87 15.00 

I have spent $184.48 more than my income since April 8th, shown on this 
account. I will state that I have besides my wife and myself, two children. 

I wish to state that this account does not include shoes or any wearing apparel, 
and just fuel enough for present needs with a cold winter ahead. 

I also wish to state that I have had no amusements and the account does not 
include tobacco, candy or any luxuries. I have a telephone which is necessary 
account of living out of the city in order to obtain low rent and also saves 
carfare. 

I realize that my expenses have been high in the last few months account of 
sickness, but you will notice that leaving the doctor's and nurse bills out, I have 
not received a living wage, which I ought to receive to meet ordinary expenses 
and save a little for emergencies, but under present conditions I have had to 
borrow over two hundred dollars ($200) to give my family proper nourishment 
and care. Arthur S. Kent. 



November 17th, 1917. 

I cannot get along on the wages I am getting now. I am a married man and I 
have a child. I have been averaging sixteen dollars a week for the last six weeks 
and my expenses have been over twenty dollars. 

Now if this continues much longer I will have to get another job. 

I cannot get along on the wages I am getting now, so please try and see if you 
cannot get an increase in wages for me. A. J. Cookson. 



Will try and show how hard it is to live on wages that I am getting now, by 
submitting a weekly expense account as compared with my weekly earnings, from 
April 8th to Nov. 11th, 1917. From April 8th up to the last of May, there were 
two extra in the family, as relatives were with me helping out before and after the 
birth of my youngest child. That accounts for the added food expenses for those 
weeks, but that extra expense was much less than the hiring of a nurse would 
have been had not these relatives been able to be with me. The little that can be 
saved from a week's pay after providing food, paying rent and other expenses 
incidental to housekeeping is not enough to keep a family properly clothed', to 
say nothing of being able to save against sickness or accident, nor can enough 
be put aside to buy the necessary fuel to keep the family warm through the winter. 
My family consists of three children, besides myself and wife. 

From April 8th to Nov. 11th, 1917, my living expenses have been $529.57. Have 
received for time worked during that period $499.81. That is $29.76 less in pay 
than it has cost me to live. During that time have been off duty only two days, 
except when my job had a regular lay off day. 

I receive $2.50 a day— $15.00 for a six-day week and $17.50 for a seven-day 
week, and get $17.50 only once in three weeks. 

Please look over these accounts and you can see how it is that a fireman work- 
ing for $2.50 a day cannot keep ahead of the high cost of living. 

Arthur H. Hall. 

NOTE : Itemized living expense showing a strict account of everything that 
has been bought and used in the family of the writer of this letter is in my hands 
open to observation. The only reason for not writing it up in this report is be- 



258 APPENDIX R 



cause of the space it would require, but in my mind the statement itself ought to he 
enough to convince any unbiased tribunal that locomotive firemen and their 
families todav, in many instances, are dying a slow death from starvation. 

Z. J. Blake. 



South Lawrence, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I am going to give you a statement in regard to an increase in pay. The spare 
board here pays on an average about fifteen dollars a week. Now, I would like 
to have someone show me how a man is going to be away from home all the 
time and live on fifteen dollars a week where he has to have a room in one place 
and will sleep in another part of the time and with the high cost of living, I 
cannot get but a small amount to eat in a lunch room for 50 cents. Now, by the 
end of the week, I do not have enough left to buy the proper clothes I ought to 
have. It is just living from hand to mouth all the time, and that is not much for 
anyone to get that lives the way I have to. F. A. Bickford. 



Dover, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 

The statement herewith submitted shows my income and expense for each week. 
I have an account in which every item I ever bought is written and which will 
hack every statement made here. My theatre expense has been just 50 cents for 
the year and we have had no other luxuries whatever. We don't live, we only 
exist. 

My rent is $12 per month and where my expenses have been high in any week, 
I have had to pay rent or doctor's bill that week. The only suit of clothes I 
possess I had made in 1913 and the cloth was given to me. My underwear I am 
wearing my third winter and only hope somebody will make me a Christmas 
present of a new suit as these are in rags. If I should quit work tomorrow and 
not be able to work again I would starve in three weeks. My family consists of 
wife and three children. I have been firing on the B. & M. for 6 l / 2 years and I 
am no further ahead now than I was 4 years ago. If conditions do not change 
soon, I shall have to resign from a position for which I have worked and studied 
for the last 6 l / 2 years and they will be years thrown away. 

Henry F. Sander. 

NOTE : You will note the above refers to statement submitted, and in explana- 
tion thereof, I have statement showing weekly earnings also weekly expense 
account Jan. 1st to August 11th, 1917, inclusive. Fireman Sander runs a check- 
account at the bank and every item of expense is accounted for. The record 
shows that at the expiration of 32 weeks of careful household management and 
strictest economy, Sander had $6.94 less than lie started in on Jan. 1st. In order 
that there may he no misunderstanding as to his financial standing. I will state 
that his bank account on Jan. 1st was $60.06 and on August 11th, $53.12. 

Z. J. Blake. 

Maiden, Mass., Nov. 20, 1917. 
The following statement of average weekly expenses shows clearly my reason 
for desiring an increase in wages at this time, for I like to feel that I am an 
average American citizen, but how can I be a good citizen when I cannot keep 
out of debt by working every day in the year. 

Weekly wages— 7 days at $2.40 $16.80 

Groceries and provisions $10.00 

Rent 4.50 

Clothing 1.56 

Coal 1.28 

. . Insurance 1.04 

Milk 98 

Shoes 68 

Lighting 48 

$20.52 

This covers bare necessities. My family consists of wife and two minor children. 

F. W. Blake, Hostler. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 259 



Maiden, Mass., Nov. 16, 1917. 
My weekly pay for six weeks, Sept. 29th to Nov. 3rd, also my legitimate ex- 
penses are shown in the following statement : 

Income Expense 

Sept 29 $21.74 $25.80 

Oct. 6 20.84 23.14 

Oct. 13 21.42 20.08 

Oct. 20 17.62 20.57 

Oct. 27 15.42 18.11 

Nov. 3 15.10 22.15 

You will note from the foregoing that my expenses were $129.85 while my earn- 
ings were $112.14, which shows that I run behind $17.71. Is there any reason why 
a man who is willing to work and trying to be a good American citizen cannot 
receive a living wage? Stephen A. Willey. 



SOUTHERN DIVISION. 

Nov. 19, 1917. 
I have been in the employ of the B. & M. R. R. as a locomotive fireman almost 
thirteen years and am still firing, with no immediate prospect of promotion. I am 
firing a local freight at $3.15 per day and trying to support a wife and five chil- 
dren and help an aged mother. I find it an impossibility to pay my bills and pro- 
cure fuel and other necessities for the winter, unless an increase in wages comes 
soon. J. F. Broderick. 



Nov. 18th, 1917. 

1 have been a fireman on the B. & M. R. R. eleven years last September. I am 
now firing a local freight from Boston to Ware, Mass., up one day and back the 
next. I will average 25 hours a week overtime, which if I did not get, I would 
have a mighty hard time to get along. 

I know from whence I speak for previous to this week, I had a job that paid 
less than $20 a week. I have a wife to support and I pay $23 a month rent in 
order to get a fit place to live in. I tried to put in my winter coal last summer but 
found it impossible to do so as it took all I made to live, on my present job. It 
costs me $3.50 to $4.00 a week at the other end of the road. I leave home at 3 :30 
a. m. and when I get through some nights it is 7 :00 p. m., never earlier than 4 :00 
p. m. 

It is no fault of mine that I am making the overtime, and if this Company see 
fit they could stop it and I would like to know where I would get off on $18.90 
a week and pay $4.00 a week expense at the other end of the road. 

Then if you don't buy Liberty Bonds and contribute to the Red Cross and Y. M. 
C. A. you are a bum. E. E. Whitney, 

79 Lexington Ave., W. Somerville, Mass. 



Saugus, Mass, Nov. 20, 1917. 
I am receiving $15 one week and $17.50 the next. We cannot pay all the bills 
for a family of seven. We haven't purchased a pair of shoes or anything in the 
line of clothing outside of a pair of stockings once in a while since the back pay. 
Had a garden this summer or we would have been in a worse fix than we are 
now in. Everything gone up, so "Mother" has to cut four heads of hair when 
they need it. If it hadn't been for Mr. Colley's mother, who is a widow and 
works out for a living, I guess we would be in the poorhouse. Our plea is for a 
living wage. Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Colley. 



Lowell, Mass, Nov. 18, 1917. 
I have fired a switcher in Lowell yard, which is considered a good job, as it 
pays $2.60 a day, 7 days a week at $18.20 a week. There are only two other jobs 



260 APPENDIX R 

in Lowell— that is, switcher— that pays as much; the rest pay anywhere from $15 
to $17.50. and I tell you we have to figure some to get a living, the way everything 
has gone up. I got a wife and two children to buy shoes and clothes for, and 
it is a pair for one or the other every few weeks. After I buy something to eat 
and pay my rent, I do not have much for shoes and clothes, and I have got a 
healthy family. If I didn't have, I don't know where the doctors' money would 
come from. All the money I spend foolishly is for tobacco and I have to deny 
myself of other things so I can smoke. 

It takes $15.00 of a week's pay for rent, which comes on the 8th of every month, 
and $15.00 for a barrel of flour about 9 or 10 weeks. A bushel of potatoes last 
us two or three weeks at $2.50 a bushel, so after we buy all of everything else to 
eat, we do not have much for clothes and pleasure, and saving is out of the ques- 
tion. Have not got my winter's coal yet, and don't see my way clear to get it. 

Edward Morrell. 



Nov. 18, 1917. 
I am writing you this letter in regard to my wages, as I cannot live on the 
present wages we are receiving. As I am doing extra work and being away from 
home most of the time, it takes half of my wages to pay my expenses away from 
home. Everything has gone up in price and it makes it very difficult to get along. 
I think the firemen should receive more money the way things are at the present 
time. H. A. Doane. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
Under the present rate of wages that I am earning as a fireman, it is almost 
impossible to eke out an existence, let alone a living. I am not living, just exist- 
ing. In fact, I am running behind. The rate of pay on my job is $2.60, and 
under the most careful economizing I am able to keep square. My family con- 
sists of wife and one child. I don't understand how I can meet all bills under 
the present conditions. I have been a fireman for 10 years. 

Augustus Palmer, 20 Olive St. 



Nov. 18, 1917. 

Have been firing 13 years, and am now back where I was 10 years ago, firing a 
night freight, which is absolutely necessary in order to get enough to live on. I am 
a demoted engineer, and still have to keep a telephone in order to answer a call. 
The question might arise that I have a house and that I am well fixed. As collector 
of the Brotherhood for about 5 years and by strict economy, I was able to save 
enough to make a first payment on my house. I spend no money foolishly. I have 
regretted a good many times that I had made a first payment on the house. I 
have $112.09 due on taxes toward my house and I haven't got the money. I spend 
no money for any pleasures such as the movies or tobacco. Have not been able 
to buy an overcoat for nearly 7 years. Am wearing the same suit of clothes sum- 
mer and winter for best for the last 7 years. It is seldom I dress up. so this 
accounts for the long existence of my best suit. I ought to be firing a much easier 
job considering my 13 years of hard work and being 38 years of age. It nearly 
drives me mad at times to think that after what a fireman has to go through for 
13 years and have to work for $2.45 per day on a local passenger train where I 
ought to be instead of firing a night freight for $3.00 for 8 hours. 

I say with emphasis that we are the poorest paid men in the world considering 
the work and the examinations we have to contend with. It grieved me very 
much to read during our 8-hour movement in the papers that we were the best 
taid men in any industry in the world. This is a damn lie and it is a shame that 
the Associated Press will print such lies without going to the trouble to obtain 
the actual facts. C. H. Evans. 



Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18. 191 

The job which I am firing now pays me about $19.00 a week. It is a job 

puts up at both ends of the road and the cost of staying away from home is f 

three to four dollars a week, but by going without sleep I manage to get b 



Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18. 1917. 
that 
rom 

get home; 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 261 



every day, sitting four or five hours sleep one day, and next day I have to spend all 
my time in bed to make up for the day before. It would be impossible for us to 
live if I did not do this and even as it is, we can't get the clothes we need and 
have to skimp and save in every way to make both ends meet. 

W. S. Hale. 



46 Walnut Ave., Medford, Mass., Nov. 10, 1917. 

I would like to know if there is anything being done in regard to obtaining 
more pay for the firemen on the B. & M. R. R. If not, cannot something be 
started ? 

The run I am on pays me about $21 a week. Before the war was started, I 
could just get along on that amount, but now with everything sky high, it is 
impossible. I am getting desperate, going in debt every week. Out of $21.00, I 
pay $6.50 for rent, $2.50 for coal now. When the cold weather sets in, it will cost 
me more. 50 cents for telephone which I must have in order to be on call; electric 
lights at least 50 cents a week (the owner of the house will not allow lamps) ; 50 
cents for gas stove; $2.00 on my furniture, which leaves about $8.50 to buy clothing 
and feed my wife, two children and myself with another child coming. 

Just a line or two on what it cost me for food. Butter is 46 cents a pound. I 
have been paying 12 cents a pound for sugar; eggs, cold storage, 50 cents per dozen ; 
flour, $1.95 a bag; coffee, 35 cents a pound; tea, 25 cents a half pound; milk, 13 
cents a quart — 91 cents a week; potatoes, 55 cents a peck; other vegetables, about 
50 cents a week. Then there is salt, pepper, and any amount of other groceries 
that we must have. Meats we do not see very often and when we do, it is the 
cheapest that can be had, such as hamburger steak, 25 cents a pound; fish once a 
week, 60 cents. 

Where does clothing come in? If I get any, I have to go to a credit house, 
which means at least $1.00 a week. Then there is doctor's bills, a new one coming 
and the last not paid for yet. Dentist bill and any amount more I could name, but 
what is the use? 

I think I am in debt now about $200 and no way to pay only with promises. 
Every time I go to the Paymaster, I expect to find that somebody has put in a 
claim. 

The boys that are getting $15 a week must be pretty near down and out. Cannot 
something be done? I would not wish to see a strike on any railroad in this 
country while we are at war, but it seems to me if this matter was put to the 
proper person, we could get results. Ernest D. Nyman, Jr. 



Boston, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 

I have been working for the B. & M. R. R. for 13 years ; have been examined 
and passed and have been classed as an engineer for four years. Under the old 
wages my job paid $21 a week, now under the new rate I make $17.50 for 7 days' 
work. 

I have to pay $22 a month rent in order to get a house to live in. I have a wife 
and a mother to keep. I have bought one ton of coke and I will have to borrow 
the money to pay for it. I also owe two months' lodge dues as I can't pay them. 
I have to work every day for if I lose one I would be put out of the house for 
non-payment of rent. Where the money for next month's rent is coming from I 
don't know. Arthur T. Barker. 



Hudson, N. H., 11-19-17. 

In regard to the wages of the firemen today, I will say for my part that it would 
be an impossibility for me to live or even exist on a fireman's straight day's pay. 

As I have six children, all under 12 years, live out in the country to save the 
high rent I would have to pay to live in the city. This means inconvenience to 
myself and family in walking and sending the children to rural schools. But to 
live on the run, I have a day's pay without overtime and three dollars to pay out 
every other day on account of living away from home. This leaves me just $15.00 
a week to live on and the least I can figure on for food is $8.00 to $10.00 and then 



262 APPENDIX R 



milk for triplets is $2.90 a week and rent more than eats up the remainder. The 
children can wear out a pair of shoes in 90 days and it is too cold now for them 
to go without. But for me to expect to live on $18.00 a week would be a bad 
dream. F. H. Graves. 



15 Walker St., W. Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 

In response to your request for a written statement of my method of living on 
the wages received by me as a locomotive fireman, would state the following : 

By working 7 days a week, 1 am able to cam $18.00. This is the maximum wage 
on a switching engine and 1 found it almost impossible to properly feed and 
clothe my family which consists of three persons. 

My wife has been able to help me by taking boarders and in this way we have 
managed to exist. We have debts contracted over a year ago by the death of 
one of my children, which are still unpaid and at the present rate will continue 
to be so. 

I don't believe the firemen are asking for anything unreasonable when they ask 
for a living wage. 

All 1 ask is enough to maintain my home in privacy and not have to take 
strangers in as boarders in order to make my income meet my expenditures. 

Aldis B. Martin. 



East Cambridge, Nov. 18, 1917. 

As there is considerable talk lately about more money I thought you might let 
me know, as to whether it would be advisable to remain railroading or go where the 
money is, as jobs around us are doubling the salary we are receiving, and which 
are of little or no inconvenience to obtain. I would be even willing to stand by 
the railroad and do my best from a patriotic point of view if I could only keep the 
wolf from the door. You probably understand that I have been with the B. & M. 
R. R. for six years, have passed my progressive examinations for an engineer 
(which still looks ten years away) and dislike very much to make a move until 
absolutely compelled to do so. Previous to these hard times, I managed to get 
a few dollars ahead of the game by cheating the lodging and boarding houses 
wherever I went, by sleeping in empty cars and engine houses and carrying a 
basketful of stale grub from place to place which I ate. 

My surplus is nearly exhausted, having drawn on it a little each month and 
paying cash for a Liberty Bond. There are several things that will have to be 
taken care of in regard to the wife and children to insure their health which 
requires money. 

The following is a list, month by month, of mv wages: June, $71.73; July, 
$57.66; August, $99.14; Sept., $47.42; Oct., $60.00. ' 

You will probably notice that for the month of August I received more than 
other months. That was because Thursday, which is pay day, came five times. 
For September, you will notice, it is smaller. I was laid up 7 days on account of 
an injury to my back. In this account there has been no reduction for expenses 
away from home. With the exception of the 7 days I was laid up, I have held a 
regular job working from 8 to 12 hours a day and as steady as the job would 
allow, working sometimes 7 days a week but in most instances 6 days. 

S. J. Burns. 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 

The present day's pay is not enough for a man with a family to live on. I am 
on a train that pays $2.45 for a day's work, have been firing over six years and 
required to pass examination, that if on any other job would pay $7.00 a day. 1 
pay $16 a month rent and the high cost of living now don't let me have the re- 
quired food to eat that a man needs to fire some of the engines that the Boston & 
Maine have. 

I get $14.70 a week, and if any of you gents can give me a little dope on how 
to make both ends meet, I am open for information. I have to work a week to 
buy a barrel of flour and they won't trust me or any other railroad man nowadays 
for ten cents, because they are not good for it. 

I say we ought to get enough money to live on. Robert R. Goodson. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 263 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 

I have been a fireman on the Boston & Maine R. R. for one year and three 
months and am getting $2.50 or $17.50 for 7 days' work. 

Food prices are so high that it is impossible to live the way we ought to. Over- 
alls that were $1 or $1.25 are now $3.00, and eggs are 65 cents a dozen, butter SO 
to 55 cents a pound, and everything is the same way, and therefore I believe that 
the firemen should be given the same consideration as other common laborers 
everywhere else. Common labor here is paying considerably more than we are 
getting. 

I have a family of four besides myself and you see that I have to scratch very 
hard to pay rent and live and clothe my family and I ask for a living wage for I 
want to be a good American citizen. 1 hope this is a satisfactory statement. 

L. F. Walters. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 

Owing to the increased cost of living, I find it is impossible for me to pay my 
bills, groceries and provisions are so high in prices that I am deprived of a great 
many necessities of life. 

My job pays $17.50 for one week of 7 days, the next week it pays $15 for a week 
of 6 days, or an average of $16.25 per week. How can a man support his wife and 
family on such low wages? 

I would like to know if you could do anything in regard to an increase in 
wages. F. C. Stowell. 



Nov. 18, 1917. 
I have been employed on the Boston & Maine Railroad as a locomotive fireman 
11 years and I receive the sum of $2.50 a day for 10 hours work firing a local 
passenger train. This money I consider is a very small sum of money for the 
work I do compared with the high cost of living at the present time. I have a 
wife and one child and it is pretty hard sledding to get along and keep my head 
above water. We have to struggle along on this money the best we can and butter 
in my home is unknown. Harry Jones. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
Owing to the high cost of living, clothes and shoes, etc., the pay I am receiving 
I cannot make both ends meet. I am running a bill from one week to another 
adding a little more each week. I am going behind every week. I owe a doctor's 
bill for six months and it is impossible for me to pay up. I have a wife and two 
children to support on $2.60 a day. I have a job which pays a little overtime in it 
which averages $21.00 a week, and it costs me about $23.00 to live. 

A. E. Joy. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
I wish to write you in regard to my existing conditions. Under my present rate 
of pay as a locomotive fireman and present high cost of living, it is almost im- 
possible to exist. I am actually running behind in my bills. I cannot even keep 
my family in proper clothing and food. Bills are piling up daily, and if an increase 
in wages is not granted soon, I don't know where I will land. My rate of pay 
is $3.15 on a local freight. My family consists of wife and one child and my wife 
is under the doctor's care nearly all the time. I have been in the service 8 years 
last August. E. Chapman, 655 School St. 



529 Main St., Woburn, Mass. 
The following reasons why I cannot live on $15.00 per week: 
I have a wife and two children dependent on me and the cost of living is so 

high that it is impossible to live on such low wages. An example of monthly 

expenses for four : 

Rent, one month $20.00 

Groceries and fuel 45.00 

$65.00 



264 APPENDIX R 



This grocery and fuel allowance is figured very low for four people and you 
can see that the actual necessaries of life take more than my wages would be at this 
rate, and I haven't figured anything for clothing for any of us. I hope and trust 
that we receive the increase asked for and I know that we will if we get fair 
treatment. E. F. Perry. 



38 Moreland St., Somerville, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 

1 am writing you some facts which cannot be denied and about which something 
must be done at once. The first fact is that we firemen are the poorest paid of 
all skilled workers. We work night and day, overtime and all for straight time, 
which in itself is far below the standard. 

The high cost of all living in the last few years has made us suffer in many ways. 
Some of my bills go unpaid for weeks and I am never square with the board. 

I earn $72.00 a month and my living comes to about $75.00 without one cent 
for clothes or doctor bills. 1 am fighting a losing fight every day in the year. 
When coal was $5.50 per ton, sugar 5 cents a pound, and meats and everything 
were reasonable, I kept even and that's all. Since that time we have had a slight 
raise in pay, but the cost of living has doubled and some things have gone higher 
than that. I have had to cut out some actual necessities because the price is out 
of my reach, and as for new clothes I have none. 

At the present time, unskilled labor is getting from 35 to 42 cents per hour, 
while a fireman, a man who takes four hard examinations, put in from 10 to 15 
years at his trade and runs a great risk to his life and limbs, this man gets 24^2 
cents per hour on the small engines and 32y 2 cents per hour on the largest old 
freights we own. Is this fair, is this reasonable? Of course not, and something 
must be done, we must have more pay. We earn it and are worth it, to our 
employers and to our Government. Jesse Harold Austin. 



Somerville, Nov. 17, 1917. 

I have four in my family to feed and with everything as high as it is in the 
food line, $2.40 per day does not go very far for food and all of the necessities.. 
I manage to keep out of debt but only by going without proper food and clothes. 
This is how we do it. One week if we get enough to eat, we must neglect the 
insurance and do not save any for rent. The next week we save a little for rent 
and pay insurance and skin along on the food. The next week we get enough 
plain food to eat but must neglect gas bill and milk bill. The week that we pay 
the rent it takes all that we can scrape for that and everything goes over, we 
borrow enough to buy just food enough to keep from going hungry. The next 
week we pay that back and so on one week after the other, and half the time my 
wife and I going without what we should have so that the others can be com- 
fortable. If one of us needs shoes, we are obliged to wait until they are almost 
worn off our feet before we can get them and everything the same. 

We do not have any luxuries and not half the necessities. 

I am obliged to pay car fare as there is not any train that I can get at the time 
I must be at work and the same coming home, making it necessary for me to ride 
on the electrics. 

Rent, per week $4.50 

Insurance, per week 1.50 

Food and groceries 11.00 

Car fare ' 70 

Gas bill 60 

Milk bill 98 

$19.28 

Wages $16.80 



ONE-A— TAKE 19 — Brooner 6th 

You can easily see that it takes more than I earn to live on, not saying anything 
about fuel, clothes, medicine and doctor's bills, and a dozen small things, which 
in itself does not make much, but added together make a lot. 

Henry Dunlap, Hostler. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 265 



Nov. 17th, 1917. 



In regard to living on the wages that I have been earning from the railroad, 
it is impossible. We are not living, we are just existing. I have a wife and two 
children and they have to go without a good many things that they need in order 
to get enough money to buy coal and food. We have to buy our coal by the }/i 
ton at a time and flour by small bag and often times it is all gone before we can 
get money together for any more. My pants are all worn out and if it wasn't 
for my overalls I wouldn't be able to go to work, and they are all patched up. 
The last pair of shoes I got at a dollar sale and I need a new pair now but can- 
not afford them. __ _ 

In 1916 for two months and 1917 for three months, my little boy lay in bed 
sick; we didn't know whether he was going to live or die, buying medicine for 
him every week kept me broke. My wife took care of him all the time, day and 
night, as we could not afford to hire anyone to help her, and when the boy got 
out of bed my wife took sick and I had to take her to my mother's to be taken 
care of as I had no money to hire any one. The doctors' bills are not paid yet 
and expect every Thursday when I go for my pay I will find it has been attached 
for the doctor bills, which is over $200, as I can't pay on my wages. If I am 
sick myself, I have to work just the same because if I loaf, it would be impossible 
to meet expenses for the week. 

We are going behind as it is. In order to work now, I have a plaster over my 
heart and a woolen bandage around my kidneys. Many a night I have had such 
pain it would bring tears to my eyes, but still I would have to work to keep the 
wolf from the door. It is almost impossible to meet my dues for insurance, many 
a month it has run over to the second month. 

My wife wore her winter coat until it is all worn out, and I cannot buy another, 
so she has to stay in the house and cannot take the baby out for the fresh air. 
My little boy will ask me for a penny for candy but I cannot give him any, for 
all those pennies count when there are so many war taxes on things and excessive 
profits. I would like to know if there is any prospect of getting an increase in 
wages, so I can give my family the necessities of life. 

Robert F. Dean, 76 Cambridge St., Lowell,. Mass. 



Boston, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 

My reasons as to why we should have a raise in pay, I will briefly state a few 
items in which we all are familiar with every week. The job which I am firing 
pays $17.50 a week if you work 7 days. Out of this I put away $5.00 a week for 
rent and gas light, $1.50 for fuel; grocery bill averages $10.50, present cost of 
living. Now this leaves 50 cents a week for clothes for my wife, two children 
and myself. The pay I receive now is just barely enough to get by on without 
buying any clothes, and if any sickness happens to anyone of the family, you are 
in a hole for a long time and it is impossible to save a cent for a rainy day, or 
to look forward to owning anything but a bunch of worthless rent receipts. When 
you need a new pair of overalls or shoes, it is just a matter of take it out of the 
grocery bill for about three or four weeks. D. W. Newcomb. 



Lowell, Mass, Nov. 17, 1917. 

This is to call your attention to the unsatisfactory wages I am receiving for 7 
days work firing a shifter at Lowell at $2.50 per day. 

I am having a hard time to get along and want a living wage. 

I am a married man and have a wife and child. I try to pay my bills when 
they are due, but if the cost of living goes much higher, I do not know what 1 
will do. 

All trades have received higher wages within the last six months, but the fire- 
man's pay remains the same. A. L. Jenkins, 10 Cambridge PI. 



266 APPENDIX R 

Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
In regard to wages on shifter and extra work. I cannot live without going he- 
hind and if it keeps on the way things are, I will never be able to get caught up. 
I am not able to get clothes to wear and fuel to keep the house warm, and have 
to skimp hard on food to eat. Things are getting worse every week and if it 
keeps up, I will have to give up railroading. William J. Delo. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 20, 1917. 
What is the prospect of getting a little more money? There is no use trying 
to get along on $16.80 any longer. I have to work 7 days a week and 8 hours a 
day for this pay. Will have to try something else if this is all we can get. Have 
been in the service 20 years. William J. Weir, Hostler. 



580 School St., Lowell, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
In regard to wages as a fireman on the Boston & Maine R. R., will say that 
$15.00 a week is not wages enough to cover expenses, as rent has advanced, also 
fuel as well as provisions. I have been in the employ of the railroad since Nov. 
10, 1890 (27 years). I think that all firemen should have more money to meet 
expenses. E. C. Jones. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17. 1917. 
I have a wife and two children, and $15.00 a week does not go very far. I 
have been in the employ of the Boston & Maine R. R. six years and I think that 
we deserve more pay. Elmer E. Kempton, 42 Tyler St. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 19. 1917. 
For the last six months I have received less than $18.00 per week, which will 
not cover legitimate expenses. I do not consider that I am receiving a living wage 
to keep a wife and five children and would like very much to fulfil my obliga- 
tions to my family and be a good citizen. L F. Crowley. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
In regard to my living on a daily wage of $2.50 a day, I will say that it is neces- 
sary to go without a great number of things in order to get enough to eat for 
a family of three, and I think it is time that we should receive an increase . s i> we 
could live under the present conditions. I have been in the service of the Boston 
& Maine Railroad five years. J. T. Linnehan. 



November 19, 1917. 
T have been in the employ of the Boston & Maine R. R. as a locomotive fireman 
for almost 13 years and I am still firing a local freight at a rate of $3.15 per day 
notwithstanding the fact that I have qualified as an engineman five years ag<>. I 
have a wife and family depending upon me for support and I find it difficult to 
give them the necessities of life, denying myself all pleasure and recreation in 
order that T may do this. Unless an increase in wages is granted to me, I dare 
not look in the future. Ralph T. Cutting. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 17. 1917. 
I am unable to live on $15.00 a week and unless I have an increase in pay. I 
will have to look for other employment. F have been employed as a locomotive 
fireman for ten months and 1 have just a mere living, and when it comes to Inly- 
ing clothes, I have to deprive my family and myself of this necessity. 

H. D. Hutchinson. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 267 



Concord, N. H., Nov. 15, 1917. 
I am employed as a fireman on the Boston & Maine Railroad and last week I 
received $17.35, which is about my average pay. I have considerable expense away 
from home and my average weekly expenses are $2.50 for insurance, $4.00 for 
rent and $2.00 for a stove, which I was obliged to buy on the installment plan. 
This leaves me a very small amount of money to feed and clothe a family of 
three and it seems that an increase in pay is inevitable if firemen are to be al- 
lowed to live as an American citizen is entitled to live. W. E. Trenoweth. 



In regard to this question of increase in wages for firemen. The cost of living 
has doubled since we have had any increase. This is the time when firemen 
getting $2.50 a day should have a raise, as no one with a family can make ends 
meet on firemen's pay. My family consists of three. Henry L. Brown. 



Concord, N. H., Nov. 15, 1917. 
I have a family of three and my wages are $2.50 per day. I ask with all sin- 
cerity, are we not entitled to an increase of wages commensurate with the increased 
cost of living? O. D. Swain. 



Concord, N. H., Nov. 15, 1917. 
I am firing a switch engine in Concord yard and receive $2.50 per day. I can 
only support myself and wife by eliminating all luxuries and many of the neces- 
saries of life by working 7 days a week. I certainly believe we are entitled to a 
raise in pay, for I feel that I am entitled to live as a citizen of these United States 
should live. L. W. Oliver. 



Concord, N. H., Nov. 17, 1917. 
I receive $2.45 per day to support a wife and four children. Owing to the in- 
creased cost in living I have to deny myself and family a good many of the neces- 
saries of life in order to keep out of debt. I have fired a locomotive on the Bos- 
ton & Maine R. R. for 14 years. M. J. Burke. 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I am firing a local passenger train out of Center Barnstead, New Hampshire, 
where it costs me $6.00 per week for expenses away from home, as my family live 
in Concord and I receive $14.70 per week. This leaves me $9.70 to provide for a 
wife and one child. Can I do it? C. A. Drown. 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I have been firing on the Boston & Maine R. R. for 11 years and am now receiv- 
ing $15.00 per week. I have a family and pay $16.00 a month house rent, 75 
cents per dozen eggs, 55 cents a pound for butter. My family is in want and I 
am helpless. My wife is trying to persuade me to leave the railroad, which I will 
have to do unless I can obtain a living wage. Henry Strawbridge. 



Lowell, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I have a wife and three children and am working for $2.50 per day. I reached 
the point where I must have an increase in wages or seek a position where I can 
at least receive a wage sufficient to pay ordinary household expenses. I have been 
firing for 7 years. John J. Jelley. 



268 APPENDIX R 

Manchester, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
1 have been firing for 5 years and 9 months and receive now $17.50 per week 
of 7 days. When one takes into consideration the amount of labor a fireman 
must perform and the amount of study he has to put into his work in order to 
qualify for advancement, can any believe that $17.50 is a reasonable weekly wage? 
Living expenses have gone sky high, and it is now impossible to make both ends 
meet when it comes to supporting a family on our present pay. 

H. H. Kempton. 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 

I am firing a switch engine in Manchester yard for $15.00 per week and it is 
mighty hard to get by on this amount of money. I have no family but at the same 
time board and room rent is high, and it seems wages ought to advance with the 
increased cost of living. 

The Amoskeag Manufacturing Co. in this city have given their help an increase 
in wages at four different times this year while my pav is not increased since 
1913. J. P. Jordan. 



FITCHBURG DIVISION. 



Fitchburg, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
As to our asking for a raise in pay, I will say it is impossible to make both ends 
meet with the small rate of pay which we receive for a day's work under the 
present conditions. Rents have gone up in Fitchburg, also all eatables have 
doubled in price and some things are three times as high as they were a year ago. 
Wood and clothing have also gone up double the price of a year ago. Gloves that 
I could buy for $1.00 last year are $2.00 today, and black shirts that were 45 cents 
a year ago are $1.00 a piece today. I fail to see why we shouldn't have a raise 
in pay the same as all other laborers have got in the last year, and if we do not 
get more money, I will have to get another job as I have a wife and step-daughter 
to support besides myself. James M. Bent. 



36 Vermont Ave., Somerville, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 

I am herewith sending you facts in regard to my living conditions as a fireman 
on the Fitchburg Division of the Boston & Maine R. R. I went firing on the 
Fitchburg Div. Dec. 6, 1909; it is now near eight years of continuous service that 
1 have rendered without a lay off or black mark. I guess my record is O. K. 

Now, the question is, what does it get a man? It is not the most desirable job 
nowadays when you stop to think how other young men have advanced in pro- 
motion as well as in wages as compared with a fireman at the present time. It 
seems the longer I work at this occupation, the more I am penalized with harder 
work every year in order to feed my family. If it is not hard work I would like 
to have some outside uninterested party make a trip on train No. 203 to get an 
inside view of how we earn our money. 

During the month of July and August, T held as a regular run trains Nos. 11 
and 50. I could just about hold it with nearly eight year's rating. This 
run had on it at first a Pacific type engine which paid $2.70 per 10 hours on 100 
miles. I put in on this run 106 miles and 10 hours and 30 minutes. The few 
miles and 30 minutes overtime paid me about $22 a week for seven days and all 
nights work practically every day in the week. I thought I was doing fine to make 
this money and be at home with my wife and three children. But no, to make 
things interesting for me the large Pacific type class of engine was taken off the 
job and a standard so-called type like the No. 1167 was put on as a regular 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 269 



engine. This engine paid $2.50 a day of 10 hours or 100 miles. It gave me a cut 
of 30c a day in my pay and I fired the job for $20.25 for 7 days under the present 
high cost of living. To make it more interesting, more cars were added on the 
run on account of traffic to Camp Devens, at one time, until they were obliged 
to put on extras, we were carrying more passengers than any train on the division 
and couldn't make our time with this engine. I got less money for heavier trains 
that was netting the B. & M. R. R. large revenue. 

Now, the question that confronted me was — can I stand at present time a cut 
of 30c a day and feed my family, a wife and three children, on $20.25 for 7 days? 
This was some job for the money with a small engine. I got off the job because 
I could not live on it. I bid off train No. 305 with Engr. McLeod which paid me 
very near $28 with overtime, a week of 7 days. My living expenses at other end 
of road was from $4.00 to $5.00 a week. I would turn over to my wife $22 or 
$23 very near every week to run the house on. We got along better, but not 
enough to buy coal at $10 a ton and shoes at $4.25 a pair for us all. I was doing 
a lot of hard work for what the job netted my family after I paid my expenses 
at E. Deerfield yard. It cost me $1.25 a trip to stop at East Deerfield, 40c to 50c 
for a meal that you used to get for 25c; 30c for a bed that used to be 25c. I 
carried my own lunch to eat on the way up but I couldn't put enough up to go a 
round trip, as hot weather would spoil. I was obliged to put a lunch up at E. 
Deerfield that cost me 35c to 40c. 

I cannot today run my household on this money and live and be a patriotic citi- 
zen of this country. Be patriotic. Let us have something to be patriotic on. Hot 
air don't keep your bones greased nowadays. What we want and what I am 
going to ask for is more money. Look at the yard switchers paying $17.50 a week 
for 7 days. How can I feed my family on this money and pay the big rents they 
want around Boston to say nothing about high cost of living which we all know 
about. I have got to fire a rawhide job along my 33rd year and see my wife and 
family three times a week and pay out all my hard-earned money for expenses at 
the other end of the road. 

I have had over $125 in doctors' bills to pay and had to borrow money to do 
it on. My wife was sick on arrival of my last boy. The little milk bottle 
jumped up to 14c a quart. I had to have two quarts a day. I am trying to pay 
for all these items on $22 a week, but figures don't lie ; it can't be done. Our 
minimum wages today should be $3.50 for a day and corresponding increase ac- 
cording to class of engine and other conditions. In order to live like American 
citizens and feel that I am a patriotic citizen, all I can say is, I hope things are 
better. F. Van Etten. 



West Medford, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 

For a seven-day week I get the magnificent salary of $17.50. As my expenses 
at home, having a wife and child, are at least $25.00, one can easily see that I 
am going to have difficulty in paying my bills. 

So much for a switcher. Now we will take a freight run such as might be 
-aught from the board. Ori the largest type engine, the rate is 40c per hour. If 

- are able to make the run to East Deerfield, 100 miles, we get $3.20, spending 
about $1.50 for food and lodging and then coming back after our rest is up. The 
pay for these two days is $6.40, taking out the $1.50Jeaves $4.90 or $2.45 per day 
net, which is absolutely too small to live on, for you must remember our home 
expenses must be paid out of the $2.45. 

It seems to me that for the amount of work and its character, that we are not 
getting as much as we should. On the outside, take the building trades for ex- 
ample, a common laborer gets 40c per hour and time and one-half for overtime, 
45c for concrete work and carrying the hod. Furthermore, he does not have to 
read or write, has no responsibilities, such as keeping steam on fast runs and does 
not have to maintain more than one establishment. 

If there is not some considerable increase granted this winter, I, for one, will 
have to give up railroading and get into some other line of work. Furthermore, 
I would suggest that the basic rate be not less than $3.50 per day and the hourly 
rates raised. C. Currier. 



270 APPENDIX R 

Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 20, 1917. 
Having fired a locomotive for the past 7 years, the best paying run that I can 
hold is a switcher that pays me $2.60 a day, $15.60 a week, and if I work the 
seventh day, $18.20. I cannot make a living. H. L. Hansen. 



Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
In regard to my work and wages. I have been working on a switcher the 
greater part of the time, which pays me $2.50 per day and work 6 days a week 
which is not enough for my wife and I to live on. It has cost me more to live than 
I have been earning, as a result, I am in debt. It will be impossible to live with- 
out an increase. W. W. Dale. 



Nov. 20, 1917. 

I receive $2.50 per day for switcher service, from $2.45 to $2.75 per day for pas- 
senger service, from $2.75 to $3.20 for freight service. Owing to the increased cost 
of living, I find it is almost impossible to meet my expenses for the support of my 
wife and child. I am working on the extra list and it is difficult to make a decent 
week's pay. I want a living wage. R. L. Brown, 61 Prescott St., Everett, Mass. 



Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
I will explain why it will be necessary for me to have more money in order to 
live. I have been firing a locomotive nearly 11 years and always lived in an 
American neighborhood, but if things don't improve, I will have to move to a 
cheaper locality and surround my children with poorer associates. I have a wife, 
three children and a Father-in-law to support and on $20.00 a week I find I am 
running behind. I haven't bought any clothes for over a year and did have to buy 
some for my wife and children, bought on instalments, something I never had 
to do before. I have no coal or wood in my cellar and no flour in the pantry 
and no prospects of getting any. We only use butter once a day and very spar- 
ingly at that. Meat we only have once or twice a week, and in my lunch I only 
take bread and butter. I must have more money or quit the railroad. 

H. C. Noves, 7 Eden St. 



6 Ellis Ave., Medford, Mass. 

Owing to the ever increasing cost of living, I find it necessary to ask for an 
increase in wages. I am firing a job paying $2.60 per day or $18.20 for 7 days. 
If I take my Sunday off like other men in other occupations, it cuts my week's 
pay to $15.60, which everyone knows is insufficient to pay living expenses. Board 
and room is so high that when it is paid and my other absolutely necessary 
expenses I have nothing left to lay by or to take what pleasures one is entitlted 
to. 

It certainly seems as though the work we do and conditions we work under 
warrant an increase in wages. J. E. West. 



Boston, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 

Cannot something be done towards an increase in wages for firemen as it has 
become impossible for me to live on the present wages. I am firing a train which 
runs 106 miles. This train pays without overtime $20.06 but there is overtime 
enough to bring the pay up to $24.00 a week. 

It would be impossible for me to make both ends meet if it were not for the 
overtime. As it is possible for the officials to eliminate the overtime at any time, 
you can readily see the position I would be in. After 10 years service. I would 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 271 



have to return to a job of long hours or miles. And you of course understand 
that after 10 years of service as a fireman with the abuse one gets, he is in no 
condition to fire one of these jobs. At the present time I can just get by, pro- 
vided there is no sickness in my home, as I have a mother and sister to look out 
for. A. C. Smith. 



44 Harvard St., Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 16, 1917. 
I find it necessary to make a request for an increase in wages. I find it impos- 
sible under the present rate of wages to meet the increased cost of living. I am 
firing for a wage of $2.50 per day or $15.00 a week. If I work Sundays, I can 
make $17.50 a week, and most any sensible man who looks at that and then looks 
at the price of living knows you can't live on that amount of pay. $15.00 a week 
don't go far towards buying coal and wood and food at the price it is today, be- 
sides house rent has gone up with all the rest since the war. H. C. Smith. 



Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
I hereby make a request for an increase of wages. I find it impossible on the 
increased cost of living to make both ends meet on $2.50 a day. If I work Sun- 
days, I earn $17.50 per week. Any sensible man had ought to know that a man 
can't exist, let alone live under the present conditions. Almost everything but 
pay has gone up over 50 to 100 per cent in the past two years. If by chance I 
should be fortunate enough to get an increase in salary, I think I could almost 
get married. P. E. Russell. 



Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 

I am a married man with a wife and four children to support and we simply 
cannot exist and keep out of debt on the pay I am getting. I have to pay $9.90 
for a ton of coal and my coal bin is empty, flour that we could buy one year 
ago for $7 to $8 a barrel now costs $14, shoes that I could buy a year or so ago for 
$3 now cost $5, working gloves that cost $1 now cost $2, overalls that two years 
ago we could buy for $1.70 a suit we have to pay $3.70 for now. 

The shoes I am wearing I have had for a year and they have been patched 
and mended until they can hardly be called shoes and my overalls are a close 
second to them. As for street clothes, it has been so long since I had a suit, 
I wouldn't know how to act in them. My children are hardly respectable going to 
school and my wife's clothes are hardly decent to go on the street with, to say 
nothing of going to church and other places she should go. I have been firing 
10 years and 6 months, buying books, studying and passing examinations all the 
while, and I am now getting $2.70 per day while unskilled labor all around me 
that cannot speak the English language are getting $3.50 to $4.00 a day. 

James K. Bullerwell. 



Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 15, 1917. 
You ask me to state why I, a hostler, should wish for an increase in pay. 
It is simply and purely because I am not getting a living wage. I am only re- 
ceiving $2.40 a day, which under the existing conditions is not a living wage, and 
as the hostlers should be classified as skilled men, they surely are not recom- 
pensed for the same. C. A. Eastman, Hostler. 



Nov. 17, 1917. 
I ask for an increase in pay simply because I am not getting a living wage. I 
find it is impossible to make both ends meet. It is impossible to save a dollar. 
I am unable to buy my winter's supply of coal on account of shortage of money. I 
am unable at times to pay my bills until they are way over due. I have been 
firing 11 years and now receive $2.70 per day. A. S. Westaver. 



272 APPENDIX R 



Nov. 14, 1917. 



I have been firing ten years and one month and am ,,.,'' 1 g a job at $2.70 per day, 
a full week's work, 6 days paying me on an average of $17.25. This is not sufficient 
for the running expenses of my household. Oscar W. Pederson. 



So. Acton, Mass., Nov. 16, 1917. 
I am employed in local passenger service at $2.45 per day, miles and overtime at 
pro rata rate.' Hours of labor, 4:35 A. M. to 5:15 P. M. Present family, wife 
and one child. By virtue of seniority, am able to hold one of the highest paid 
jobs on my division. I hold job which pays approximately $25.00. No job which 
pays only a day's pay would be sufficient income to support my family. As it 
is,I am just about able to hold my own and support my family. T. Chamberlain. 



Boston, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
You asked me why I demand an increase in wages? Because the wages I 
received on the extra list averages from $12 to $15 a week, which is not sufficient 
to meet my expenses at home and on the road. I have dependent upon me wife 
and two children, and it is impossible to get the winter supply of coal or meet 
my bills when they come due. I have been a fireman five years and three months. 

Arthur Mullin. 



Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
I find it absolutely impossible to care for my family, consisting of wife and 3 
small children, ages 3, 5 and 6 years, with my present wages, giving them the bare 
necessities of life. When a man finds that he is going backward week in and week 
out, all the time striving without attaining, is it not time to try first of all a request 
for higher wages? 



Linden, Mass., Nov. 15, 1917. 

In response to your request for an estimate of my expenses, I would say the 
following is the salary I receive. My family consists of wife, and three children. 
I am firing a through passenger job on the Fitchburg Division for which I re- 
ceive $2.70 for 100 miles. I find it almost impossible to get along on it and keep 
out of debt. 

I was sent to Rotterdam, N. Y. to go running out of there this past summer, 
212 miles from home. The first two weeks I was there I made $17 or $18 and 
the third would have been the same, only one of the fellows took pity on me I 
guess, laid oft" and went to the foot of the list when called so I would get another 
trip that week making me about $30. I had to pay my board and room in Rot- 
terdam, and run a home in Boston, which put me further in debt. I have about 
one-fourth ton of coal in the cellar, no wood and expect a doctor's bill any day. 
I have been firing since Jan. 4, 1907 and still at it through no fault of mine, and 
with the high cost of living and the low rate of pay, I wish you would show me 
how you expect us to be honest and pay our bills." C. L. Stanley. 



Fitchburg, Mass.. Nov. 19, 1917. 
It is necessary that I should receive more money for a day's pay than I am get- 
ting today, which is $3.25 to offset the high cost of living, which has increased 
from 50 to 500%. I am married with 4 in the familv. Geo. Sparks. 



Nov. 19, 1917. 
T have a wife and two children, my expenses are very heavy on account of the 
high cost of food, fuel, etc. I am firing a switcher paying $260 per day. It is 
impossible to make both ends meet and we are holding on only because we live 
in hope of getting more money. When will it come? 'W. Emerson. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 273 

Fitchburg, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
It is necessary that I should iave more money for the work I do. I receive 
$2.50 a day, which is not -Ugh. Everything costs twice as much as it did four 
years ago when I got the same pay. I am not married but I have to support 
my mother. Every other class of labor around the country gets a good deal 
more money than locomotive firemen. F. T. Kelly. 



Medford, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 

I believe in that saying that a laborer is worthy of his hire (or that the hire 
of a laborer should be worthy of the laborer) and being firm in this belief, I am 
prompted to write this letter protesting the insignificant pay received by locomo- 
tive firemen. After 10 years apprenticeship as a locomotive fireman, I find that 
I am able to command a weekly salary of $17.40 per week on a through pas- 
senger run from Boston to East Deerfield. Last summer I was very glad to ac- 
cept a switcher (rather than take the extra board) and this position paid me 
the princely salary of $2.50 per day, 6 days per week, or in other words, just about 
the amount of wages a boy ten years of age should be able to command. You 
no doubt have statistics of the pay of other classes of labor throughout the land 
and by saying other classes of labor, I include those whose members are unable 
to read or write the English language, and if so, and you take the trouble to make 
a comparison, will find that for the work they do, firemen head the list for 
being poorly paid. 

The high cost of living nightmare I do not think it necessary to unearth for any 
man who is attempting to run a house at the present time knows that there is not 
one single thing in the line of food or clothing but what has doubled and in a 
great many cases more than doubled in price in the last 3 years. I hope to see 
a $3.50 minimum rate established and some financial recompense for being held at 
the opposite terminal after 10 hours. J. E. Severy. 



Nov. 19, 1917. 
I am firing a job that pays me $2.45 per day. My week's pay with all overtime 
amounts to about $18.15. At present I haven't any coal. I have a wife and one 
child and find I haven't money enough to buy clothing for winter. On my last pay 
day after paying such bills as I had to, we had just 73 cents to last us the rest of 
the week. E. A. McLane. 



November 18, 1917. 
I am a fireman at Bellows Falls, Vt., doing extra work, subject to call at all 
times. I have a wife and one child. My pay averages from $15 to $20 per week. 
Owing to high cost of living, I hardly exist. C. G. Blanchard. 



Bellows Falls, Vt., Nov. 16, 1917. 
I am firing a train from Bellows Falls to Boston and return, 696 miles per week — 
paying $18.79. I have a wife and two children and pay $15 a month rent. With 
what odd jobs I can do on my off time I am just able to meet my bills by living 
as economically as possible. I am certain that we should have more money. If we 
do not get it, I must do something else so that I can earn more. 

P. H. Metzler. 



Bellows Falls, Vt., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I am a fireman employed by the Boston & Maine R. R. I have a two-ter- 
minal run. I receive $3.15 per day. I have a wife and home to support and 
under conditions and high cost of living, it is almost impossible for me to meet my 
expenses. If we don't get an increase in pay, I will not be able to meet my ex- 
penses. I don't think a man can support a home on $3.15 per day on a job that 
puts up away from home with extra expenses and I think that we should have 
an increase in pay at once. S. C. Heuey. 



274 APPENDIX R 

Nov. 18, 1917. 
I have been working tor the B. & M. R. R. for 8 years, and employed as fireman. 
I am now firing a switcher in Bellows Falls yard working 7 days at $18.55 per 
week. Am married and have one child. Have to pay $14 per month rent. To 
live within my income have to figure very close, think we should have more 
money. E. V. Edwards. 



Bellows Falls, Vt., Nov. 18, 1917. 
1 am employed in hostler service on B. & M. R. R. I receive $2.40 per day of 
8 hours. I have been employed in this capacity for 13 years. I have a wife and 
mother to support and 1 find that on account of the small pay that I receive 
and the ever increasing cost of living, that I must receive more pay or give 
up many things which I need to support my family. L. S. Eddy, Hostler. 



•Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 16, 1917. 
I have been a fireman on the B. & M. R. R. seven years and my wage is $2.50 
per day, which is the highest rate per day I can get at present and on account of 
the increased cost of living, I find this insufficient to pay my bills. I am a mar- 
ried man with one child. Fred Tidd. 



Nov. 17, 1917. 
I am asking for more wages simply because I am not getting a living wage. 
It is impossible to meet my bills and am unable to buy clothes I need and food 
stuffs. I have been firing for 11 years. M. J. Cassidy. 



Nov. 18, 1917. 

Why the hostlers want more pay, because we need it to meet the increased cost 
of living. We have received an increase of 15 cents per day since 1907 over ten 
years ago. We are working at present at the rate of $2.40 per day of eight hours, 
but we have to put in four hours per day overtime in order to meet our living 
expenses, 84 hours per week or about 36 hours more than the average working 
man at the present time. 

If we were to work only eight hours per day and six days per week, we would 
receive but $14.40 for a week's pay, which any person will admit is not enough 
to supply the table for a family, let alone the added cost of house rent, doctors' bills, 
light, heat and clothing. We ask for a living wage so as to enable us to work that 
8-hour day which was granted us a short while ago, so as to be able to live as 
men should live. I. H. Dakin, H. E. Stevens, Hostlers. 



Somerville, Mass., Nov. 17, 1917. 
I think that a demand of increase of wages is justified at these times to meet 
the high cost of living. The fireman's rate of pay is too low. J. O. Query. 



Greenfield, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
We find it hard to get along with the pay we are receiving on account of the 
high cost of living. Working 8 hours a day gives us only $2.40 but the Company 
is working us 12 hours a day that gives us $3.60. We are working 7 days a 
week. We get tired out working 7 days a week and 12 hours a day but we if we 
do stay out one or two days in a month we get behind on our bills and do not 
get caught up for two months. 

Daniel Hart, O. C. Leanan, J. W. Osgood, Hostlers. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 275 

November 18, 1917. 
Regarding the rates of pay and how far our pay will go, I wish to submit to 
you the following itemized statement of my pay and expenditures. I am firing a 
local freight for $3.15 a day, 6 days a week. 

6 days @ $3.15 $18.90—1 month— $75.60 

Expenses for Month 

$22.00 House rent. 

2.40 Car fare. 

7.20 Dinners. 

1.00 Overalls. 

1.00 Gloves. 

1.00 Washing overalls. 

3.40 B. L. F. & E. dues. 

10.00 1 ton of coal. 

2.00 Gas. 

36.00 Groceries and meat. 

1.00 Insurance for wife. 



$87.00 



You can see by these figures that on a straight day's pay I am going behind at the 
rate of $12.00 a month, and I have not included the small items that come up in 
all homes for the cost of shoes or clothing. My wife is saving and economical, 
and it is only by the overtime which I sometimes get I am able to keep my head 
above water. As we have been unable to put anything away toward the winter 
coal, we have decided to break up our home for the winter and take one furnished 
room in order to try and keep out of debt. 

I have been firing about 12 years and a great part of this time has been heavy 
freight work. Now my back has given out and I cannot stand up under this 
class of work and must take a lighter and poorer paid run. T. D. Warren. 



W. N. & P. DIVISION. 



Nashua, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I have a wife and two children. Commencing Oct. 1st, my rent was raised, the 
milk was raised from lie to 12c per quart, and it requires three quarts daily for 
the children who are small. Then too, as you know, there is considerable expense 
to my run. Commencing Sunday afternoon, I leave home, buy my supper and 
breakfast, and if unable to go home upon arrival at Nashua, am obliged to buy a 
dinner in Boston. Repeat this expense three times a week and add room rent 
in Keene to this amount makes an expense of about three dollars a week. At 
present the run pays about $21.50. I have lost two trips during the last two months 
and at present date am in debt over $24.00, to B. & R T. Gaskell Co., for gro- 
ceries $11.00, Ravenelle Bros. $3.00, Norman House for drawing two loads of 
wood nearly four cords $10.00. My wife is very economical and besides necessi- 
ties, she has bought herself a pair of shoes. I don't know of any way by which 
we could economize more without endangering our health and welfare. 

Alanson T. Mason. 



Nashua, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
_ Enclosed please find my statement in regard to the pay I am getting and the 
living I am getting from the wages. I receive $17.50 for seven days work. I have 
two children, wife and myself. We can't live. My wife has to work to help 
me, and it will take both of us at least three months to catch up with back bills 
that were unavoidable since the cost of living has advanced beyond our income. 

H. A. Sprague. 



276 APPENDIX R 

Nashua, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
On account of high cost of living, wc are obliged to ask for more pay for an 
eight-hour day. We are now working 12 hours a day at $3.60 and can just get 
by on that, but if we work a straight 8-hour day, we would have to have $3.25 and 
be obliged to work seven days a week in order to be able to live. 

W. M. Little, Hostler. 



Manchester, N. H., Nov. 19, 1917. 
I am a fireman on the W. N. & P. Division of the Boston & Maine R. R. and 
have been firing for 1 year and 5 months. I am single and I am firing the Hills- 
boro passenger train between Hillsboro and Manchester, and the job pays $2.45 a 
day for six days. It gives me a total of $14.70. Now I work 7 days and get 2 
hours overtime on Sunday, and the total for 7 days is $17.76. Now I have to pay 
$7.00 a week for board and $1.00 at least for washing and just for my necessary 
living expenses, it cost, me $8.00 a week to live. Gloves which were 75c a pair 
are now $1.00 to $2.00 and so on. Overalls that were $1.60 a suit, are now $3.00. 
All these miscellaneous expenses make my weeks pay look very small, not count- 
ing on my clothes and so forth, and you can see that $17.76 for 7 days is not 
enough. I could state many other expenses, but these are a fair comparison. 

J. E. Wait. 



Nashua, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 
I will frankly state that I think we are not getting pay enough. In my case. 
rather than to run in debt, I gave up housekeeping and have a job in Peter- 
boro, N. H., where we are boarding with my wife's folks, who by the way, run a 
hotel, so she easily earns her own board and must state that with the closest 
economy on our part on our wages, it is all one can do to keep out of debt with 
living as high as it is today. It is disgraceful to have to submit to our minimum 
wages. A man with a family cannot live on a switcher, and in order for him to 
provide a decent living, is by getting some job where he can work 14 to 16 
hours each day, then he is nothing but a slave. His own family are strangers to 
him, he being away from home so much. I have a wife and baby and with the 
present wages and food stuffs as high as they are, I could not think of going 
housekeeping. I am heartily in favor of a living wage. 

Charles H. Freeman. 



C. & P. NORTH DIVISION. 

Nov. 16, 1917. 
I am on the extra list the year round only when I catch a hold-down switcher 
for twenty or thirty days and find it impossible to live and take care of my family 
of wife and four children on the wages that I get and believe me, we live close 
to our belly at that. I have gone behind some $60 in the past year, the best that 
we could figure. It seems at times that I must quit and get a job where I can 
get by, but I have been here six years and hate to give up six year's rating for 
something else. If I should be sick for any length of time, it would surely put 
me into clear for life financially. If you think it easy to take care of my family 
and pay my bills and be a decent citizen on fireman's pay, why I am willing 
you should be travelling fireman on the job any week. Kie I. Davis. 



West Lebanon, N. H., Nov. 18, 1917. 

I have been firing a locomotive on the C. & P. North Division of the Boston 

& Maine Railroad since Aug. 24, 1906 and the best job I can hold is a local freight, 

and am not sure of keeping it much longer. I receive without overtime $18.90 per 

week, and have to be away from home Sundays Tuesday, Thursday and Sat- 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 277 

urday nights, which cost me at least $5.00 a week. I am married but have no 
children, pay $12.00 rent which is about the cheapest there is in town, but on 
$18.90 per week that is all I can pay and coal is $10.50 a ton, and you know as 
well as I do the prices we have to pay for groceries, shoes, gloves and overalls. 
If I didn't have a garden last summer and raise all the vegetables we shall want 
this winter and get a little overtime once in a while, my regular week's pay would 
hardly keep me out of debt, providing I was able to work and had no doctor's 
bills to pay. Every day and sometimes twice a day, I run into a representative 
of the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., R. R. Xmas fund and a dozen others, seeking 
money for a cause that is just and right,, but on our present rate of pay, I cannot 
give very much to any of them and they wonder why. A Red Cross lady thought 
I ought to easily spare $25.00. Have not had a week's vacation since I was mar- 
ried nearly 8 years ago, but am in hopes we will be able to get money enough 
some day so we can afford to live as other people do and save up a little for a 
rainy day, but we cannot do it on $18.90 per week. Geo. Burrington. 



White River Jet, Vt., Nov. 19, 1917. " 
I have been firing a switcher all summer in White River Jet. yard (not 
by choice for I am doing extra work) and keep house at Lyndonville, you can 
draw your own conclusions, $2.50 a day is certainly some salary, with the present 
prices. Every time a man goes into a restaurant for a meal, he digs up 45c 
or 50c and the best a man can live on in this place is $9.00 per week, which 
leaves me $8.70 to support my wife and pay $14.00 a month house rent and buy 
the necessaries of life. Then some weeks, they pull the switcher off for a day 
and that reduces my weekly salary from $17.50 to $15.00. We must certainly have 
more pay. H. G. Croft. 



West Lebanon, N. H. ; Nov. 17, 1917. 
I have been a fireman on the Boston & Maine Railroad for 11 years and 3 
months and all the run I can hold is the way freight which pays me $18.90 a week. 
There is four in my family and I have to be away from home every other night 
which costs me three dollars, $18.00 a month house rent, coal $10.50 a ton. I 
don't believe there is any use of giving the price of other necessaries for every- 
one knows they are high. If it wasn't for my wife working and earning half as 
much as I am, we couldn't keep out of debt, and we deny ourselves all pleasures 
because it takes it all to live. Fred R. Phelps. 



Lyndonville, Vt., Nov. 19, 1917. 

I have been firing on the C. & P. North Division of the B. & M. R. R. for a 
period of eight years and eight months, and driven from my home terminal on 
account of engineers being set back firing. The Railroad have done away with 
every regular run they could and raised the tonnage of all engines so had too 
many engineers for what work there is and six were set back firing. The only 
regular job or run I can hold is a passenger train out of Newport, Vt. This run 
is 106 miles per day, 6 days per week with a mogul engine and burns on an 
average of 7 tons of coal every day. This run only pays $16.59 per week. I am 
obliged to get up at 2 :30 a. m., deadhead 36 miles, fire this run and pay out for 
breakfast and supper, besides carry a pail. Since the cost of living has gone out 
of sight with four in my immediate family, it is impossible for me to support 
my family and keep out of debt, and I never lose a trip. I am running in debt 
at the rate of $12.00 per month, and with a long cold winter setting in and no 
coal on hand and wood at $12.00 per cord, where does a fireman fit? I will say 
right here, unless we get more pay for a day's work (enough to get by on) I will 
be compelled to leave the service of the railroad like many other men have had 
to do in order to get a job with money enough to support their families. 

I will state further it is no trouble for a man that wants a job to get work. 
Sherborn Fang, Mgr. of Parker & Young Co., East Burke Road, Lyndonville, 



278 APPENDIX R 

Vt., will give every fireman a job for two years cutting logs and pulp and working 
around a lumber mill at a wage of $2.50 per day and good board. The farmers are 
all paying from $50 to $60 per month and board, glad to get them at that. There 
are 54 firemen on the C. & P. North Division of the B. & M. R. R., and unless 
we get more money for a day's work by January 1st, more than 40 percent are 
going to look for work where they can get enough money to insure an honest 
living. Ernest U. Sheldon. 



C. & P. SOUTH DIVISION. 

Nov. 17, 1917. 
I am working in two places, my living expenses are on an average of $20, and 
I am only getting $16 from the Railroad Company, so by working for the American 
Express Company six hours a day, I have 12 hours to get home in and see my 
family, sleep and get back in. This is not allowing anything for clothes for us. 
I would like to let you see the difference in my grocery bill now and one year ago, 
which I can show you any time. It is all of $6.00 a week more beside house rent 
$4.00 and everything else the same way. 

M. D. Rowe. 



Springfield, Mass., Nov. 19, 1917. 
When you have to work for two corporations for a living, it surely is some 
proposition. I find it quite impossible to make a bare living on $15.00 a week. 
In addition to my firing, I have a job with the American Express Company and 
making 25 cents an hour and very glad to get it. Between the two jobs, I make 
a comfortable living and I am thankful to have my health to keep it up, but 15 
and 16 hours out of every 24 is going to tell on a man in the long run and I hope 
to see the day I will not have to do it. Wm. O'Keefe. 



Holyoke, Mass., Nov. 16, 1917. 
Isn't there something that could be done in regard to the firemen's wages? 
I am on a switcher in Holyoke and it pays only $15.00 per week, $2.50 per day. 
Now you know that is not enough to support my family as I have four children, my 
wife and I to keep, and the way things are now, that is not half enough to go 
round. I have got to tap shoes in order to make a living, and then it isn't enough, 
so you see I am in a bad fix. I run under every week. I haven't even got coal 
or wood in my cellar. This can't last very long. I hope something can be done in 
regard to our wages soon. J. D. Guertin. 



Springfield, Mass.. Nov. 19, 1917. 
I have a wife and two children and have a rent of $22 a month. My average 
pay is $19 a week for seven days. I cannot possibly live on these wages and keep 
square with the world. I am in debt now $115. My children have not got the 
proper clothing, neither has my wife or myself. I do not care as I do not have 
time to dress up. This is as correct a statement of my resources as I can make. 

L. E. Prouty. 



Springfield, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
At present I am earning $3.15 a day and the high cost of living and paying rent, 
I can iust squeeze by. James M. Frost. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 279 

Springfield, Mass., Nov. 18, 1917. 
I hereby certify that I am unable to live and pay my bills under the present 
scale of wages, which I am getting as a locomotive fireman. There are three in 
my family to support and I draw $15 per week from the railroad. I am forced to 
pay high rent on account of being obliged to live within a limited distance of the 
enginehouse. I have found it quite necessary to seek work elsewhere in order 
to get an honest living. I work for the American Express Company 7 hours a 
night and am able to exist. I have been employed 8 years for the Boston & Maine 
Railroad. E. N. Martin. 



You are hereby authorized to use any and all of the foregoing state- 
ments in i ny way that you deem proper, and if further reference is neces- 
sary, the same will be forthcoming without delay, as every statement is, 
to the. best of my knowledge and belief, true and authentic. 

Fraternally yours, 
ZJB/C Z. J. Blake. 



Boston, Mass., November 30th, 1917. 
Mr. W. S. Carter, 

President, B. L. F. & E., 
Cleveland, Ohio. 
Dear Sir and Bro. : — 

I hereby submit for your edification, a brief outline of the conditions 
under which firemen are laboring on the Boston and Maine Railroad, 
and inasmuch as I am using the exact language of our Local Committees, 
the facts stand without any fear of contradiction. 

PORTLAND DIVISION. 

November 16, 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro: — 

In reporting the conditions on this Division, in regard to employing firemen, 
there has been no time this year with the exception of the first week in November, 
that the extra men have not been getting out on their rest and on numerous occa- 
sions, and in fact about all the time, they have had what they call a number of 
temporary men firing switchers. These men are as a rule "mentally unfit" for 
firing service, and the Company have been compelled to change their age limit 
from 21 to 25, to include 18 to 28, but they are still unable to provide enough extra 
men to cover the extra service, as they have been using all the regular firemen they 
could get on their lay-off. 

Yours fraternally, 

E. O. Brown. 

We have on this division 20 firemen in passenger service working for 
a minimum day's wage of $2.45 to> $2.60, 77 switch firemen and 9 relief, 
all working for a minimum day's wage, also 7 freight firemen working 
for a minimum day's wage, making a total of 113 firemen out of possibly 
300 working for a straight day's pay or $14.70 to $18.00 per week. 

I find that 53 firemen have quit the service from this division between 
January 1st and November 1st, 1917. These you will understand are not 
included in the number enlisting for military service. 



280 APPENDIX R 

SOUTHERN DIVISION. 

Somerville, Mass., Nov. 15, 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro : — 

On the Southern Division of the Boston & Maine Railroad, last January, Febru- 
ary, March and April, and again during the months of June, July, August and 
September, roundhouse help were used to fire switchers in place of the regular 
men who were used to fire road jobs. 

This roundhouse force that were used as firemen were Italians, Russians and 
Greeks, and some of them could hardly understand the English language, I having 
to run a switching job several times with that kind of help. 

During the months of July, August and September, it was necessary to request 
the Master Mechanic to promote firemen to enginemen in order to give the extra 
men proper rest and handle the traffic at that time. It was not until August that 
we succeeded in having the men promoted. The request to have firemen pro- 
moted was made about the 15th of June and it was necessary to interview the 
Master Mechanic several times without success as you know, and then the matter 
was taken up with Supt. of Motive Power, and the reason given for not promoting 
men as requested was shortage of firemen, could not get them or keep them on 
account of the hard work and small wages. 

Fraternally yours, 
J. C. Robinson, Local Chairman, Southern Div. 

There are about 290 firemen employed on this division and I find that 
in Boston Terminal 33 firemen are working for a minimum day's wage, 
$2.50 to $2.60, many of them on 6-day switching jobs, 4 firemen at Mystic 
Wharf and 19 at Lowell, 10 at Manchester, 10 at Concord and 2 at 
Westboro, a total of 78 on a wage of $15 to $17.50 per week, and I have 
before me a statement showing that there are a number of passenger 
and freight runs on this division paying a wage less than $20.00 per week. 
48 firemen have quit the service from this division since Jan. 1, 1917. 

FITCHBURG DIVISION. 

Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro : — 

I find on the Fitchburg Division at Boston there are 18 firemen working for a 
minimum day's wage, there are several other jobs that pay overtime, should this 
overtime be eliminated, these firemen would be working for a minimum day's wage. 
On runs that pay overtime, this of course means long hours and a big expense 
away from home. 

I also find that 225 firemen left the service between Jan. 1st to November 1st, 
1917, due in most all cases to arduous work and small wages. After men are 
employed and they learn the true facts and conditions, they immediately leave the 
service. Men that seek employment as firemen are led to believe through news- 
papers that firemen receive from $3.50 to $4.00 per day. The Boston & Maine 
Raiboad has had difficulty in securing firemen and on several occasions freight 
trains were annulled on account of no firemen available. At present, men seeking 
employment as firemen are unable to stand up under the arduous work of firing a 
locomotive. This railroad has found it necessary to use men as firemen from 
other branches of the service, in most cases they are paid extra compensation. 
Men are used as firemen who are unable to read or write. The general conversa- 
tion among the firemen is that unless they receive an increase in wages they must 
seek employment elsewhere as they are unable to live on their present wages. 

W. A. Chisholm, Local Chairman. 
November 17th, 1917. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 281 

The conditions on this division are well explained in the foregoing 
letter, and you will note that 225 firemen have quit the service since 
January 1st, 1917, or nearly 50% of the entire force (506), and in addi- 
tion to this, many men come and go that no record is kept of, as they 
do not stay long enough to establish a rating. The following letter 
explains in detail the class of men that the Railroad find it necessary 
to hire : 

In regard to the class of men now being employed on the Boston & Maine 
Railroad. I can answer you from the view of an engineer, and as an organizer 
for the B. L. F. & E. The men hired today in a vast majority of cases wouldn't 
have been considered two years ago. Up until six months ago, the maximum age 
of an applicant for employment was 25 years. Now it is anything, as there are 
cases of men over 50 years of age who were discharged years ago from the roal- 
road service and have lately been hired as firemen. Many of the men are too 
small and weak to fire our big engines, and as a rule, don't stay over a week. 
I had one man fire for me who was an Italian. He could hardly speak enough 
English to make himself understood. He stayed one week. On being called one 
day for a switcher and told he had to fire it for $2.50, he looked around in dis- 
gust and threw the job up with the remark: "No lika de job. No mucha de mon." 

That afternoon he went- to work for a contractor at $3.50 a day with Saturday 
afternoon off and double time for overtime. On several occasions, I have had 
the call boy out on road jobs on account of shortage of firemen. It is an every 
day practice to pull Polanders off such jobs in the enginehouse as wipers, engine 
watchmen or ashpitmen and put them on shifters while the regular firemen are 
put on road jobs. The foreigners will only fire a day or so before requesting to 
be put back on their own job, which in some cases pay more money. 

Thomas D. Warren. 



There are approximately 150 firemen on this division working for a 
minimum day's wage. 

Wages paid to different class of help at Mechanicsville, N. Y., is shown 
in the following statement by the Local Chairman, W. F. O'Hearn. 
New England Brick Co. : 
Lowest grade laborers — $2.50 per day. 
Ordinary laborers — $2.60 per day. 
Semi-skilled laborers— $2.75, $3.00, $3.25. 

Bricksetters, machine hands an dbrick molders — $3.50 and $4.00. 
Average day — 8 hours. 

H. E. Praiegent, Supt. 



I have made injuiry as to the rate of pay that is being paid at the plant 
of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Co. of this city. 

Machine tenders — 8 hours, 48c per hour of 6-day week with time and one- 
half for overtime. 
Back tenders — 8 hours, $2.50 per day, time and one-half for overtime. 
Beater engineer — 8 hours, $2.75 per day with time and one-half for over- 
time. 
These three classes of workers get a percentage at the end of the 
month for speeding up. This brings their pay up so that a machine tender 
draws on an average of $150 per month, back tenders get on an average 
of $110 a month. Beater engineers make about $125 per month. 



North Adams: 

Filing, Chipping, Wheeling — $2.55, 9 hours. 
Hunter's Foundry and Machine Shop : 
C. Whitney, Contractor— $2.50 and $3.00. 
Shoveling and Wheeling. 



282 APPENDIX R 

Hoosick Falls : 

Noble & Wood— $2.75 and $3.00, pushing trucks, shoveling sand, 7 to 9 

hours. 
W. A. Wood & Co.— $2.75, pushing trucks, wheeling sand, loading and 

unloading cars, 9 hours. 
All contractors around Troy, N. Y., paying $3.00 for 8 and 9 hours. 



At Bellows Falls. Vt., as shown by Local Chairman E. P. Long: 

International Paper Co. : 

Unskilled and rough labor — 28c per hour, 9 hour day. 

Repair helpers — 31c per hour, 9 hour day. 

Cuttermen — 31-34c per hour, 9 hour day. 

Back tenders on paper machines — 34-41c per hour, 8 hour day. 

Stationary firemen— 41 l />c per hour, 8 hour day. 

Overtime and Sundays at time and one-half daily rates with a 10% 

monthly bonus of month's wages. Reference — T. F. Donegan, 30 Old 

Terrace St., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
Robertson Paper Co., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
Stationary Firemen — $3.30^ per day of 8 hours. 
Coal shovelers — $2.85 per day of 9 hours. 
Cuttermen — $3.13 per day of 9 hours. 
Time and one-half for Sundays and overtime. 
Reference — John J. McDonald, Front St., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
Wyman Flint Co., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
Stationary Firemen — $3.44 per day of 8 hours. 
Reference — Nicholas Powers, Ash St., No. Walpole, N. H. 
Moore and Thompson Co., Bellows Falls, Vt. 

Stationary Firemen — $3.11 per day of 8 hours, with 10% monthly bonus. 
Reference — Domonick McDermott, Bellows Falls, Vt. 



W. N. & P. DIVISION, 

The following statements from our two Local Chairmen of this divi- 
sion show clearly existing conditions : 

Nashua, N. H., Nov. 21. 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro : — 

In compliance with your letter of Nov. 14th, I hereby submit my findings to 
you as follows : 

1st: There were 101 firemen hired during the first 11 months of 1917, and 50 
have resigned during that period. 

2nd : The Company has been unable to procure enough firemen and Master 
Mechanic stated to me personally that the reason for this was that young men 
eligible for firemen could obtain better work elsewhere. This company is hiring 
men without regard to character or ability for firemen, and have used engine- 
house men for firemen of all ages and nationality from immature boys to old 
men, who could neither read, write or speak the English language. The wages 
paid, minimum day firemen are too low, and I know for a fact that firemen are 
not meeting their just bills, and some go as far as to allow their wives to work 
to make both ends meet, hostlers here at present, owing to scarcity of labor, are 
working on 12-hour shifts and paid on 8-hour basis, but any time that they should 
be placed on a flat 8-hour day, hostlers state to me that they would rather look 
for other work than attempt to live on such small wages. 

A. A. Gagnon, Local Chairman. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 283 

Worcester, Mass., Nov. 21, 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro: — 

I find that beginning Jan. 1, 1917, and up to Nov. 17, 1917, there have been 101 
firemen hired on this division (W. N. & P.) and 50 have got through, also one 
of two men have been used as temporary as hostlers at Worcester and they have 
got through. 

I find the Company nearly all the time have had great difficulty in securing fire- 
men and that a large number of house men such as wipers, boilermakers helpers, 
and machinists helpers have been used, also the age limit for firemen entering the 
service has been changed so that younger and older men can enter the service 
now than was formerly allowed. 

WAGES PAID UNSKILLED LABOR AROUND WORCESTER. 

B. F. Marsh & Co., Garden St., Worcester, Mass., as vouched for by Ralph 
Whitney, Manager : 

$3.25 per day of 9 hours with Saturday afternoon off. Same rate for overtime. 
This labor used is rough work such as handling cement, bricks, etc. 

Norton Co., Barber, Mass., as vouched for by H. E. Whiting, Beverly Rd., 
Worcester, Mass. 

$3.00 per day of 10 hours, same rate for overtime but did pay time and one-half 
for overtime up to recently. 

Johnson & Bassett, Worcester, Mass., as vouched for by F. B. Howe, Windsor 
St., Worcester, Mass. 

$2.75 per day of 10 hours, same rate for overtime. 

City of Worcester, Water Department as vouched for by A. E. Abbott, 146 
Main St., Worcester, Mass. 

$2.75 per day of 8 hours ; don't know rate of overtime, but think it is time and 
one-half. 

Webb Granite & Construction Co., Troy and Fitzwilliam, N. H., as vouched for 
by F. B. Howe, Windsor St., Worcester, Mass. 

$2.75 per day of 10 hours to the cheapest laborers; those that are unable to 
speak the English language at all. 

Number of Firemen Working for Nearly a Minimum Day. 

Local Passenger Service. Four. Nearly all in this class of service receive a 
little in addition to the regular day in the form of a few miles over the hundred or 
a few minutes overtime. 

. Through Passenger Service. Four. At least two of these receive a few minutes 
overtime but nothing of any amount. 

Switching Service. Fifteen. Of this number 5 are receiving road pay on account 
of road work in Worcester yard. 

Hostler Service. Four. All working 12 hours a day. 

Have interviewed about 15 or 16 men relative to their financial condition and the 
reply of nearly all is in substance that it would be impossible for them to pay 
their bills if it wasn't for extra work that they are getting in Sundays and some 
overtime on other jobs, also some of them are working at other jobs on their off 
time. F. A. Symonds. 

WHITE MT. DIVISION. 

Woodsville, N. H, Nov. 21, 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro : — 

The following are the number of runs on the White Mt. Division, which are 
paying less than $20.00 per week. 

8 switchers: 3 local freight; 1 mixed train (freight rates). 
8 passenger trains. 



284 APPENDIX R 

Nine firemen have quit the service to engage in other business or practically 
one-sevenths of our men who have steady employment. 

Serious difficulty has been experienced in securing firemen to cover the service 
during the summer months even to the extent of holding up trains until the men 
have secured the required rest. 

Company has found it necessary to use roundhouse men, boilermakers, ma- 
chinists, car inspectors, etc. at various times in the past 11 months. 

F. R. Campbell. 



C. & P. NORTH DIVISION. 



The following letter outlines conditions on this division : 

Lyndonville, Vt, Nov. 21, 1917. 
Mr. Z. J. Blake, 

General Chairman. 
Dear Sir and Bro : — 

On the C. & P. North Division, we have two Branch jobs on a minimum day's 
wage, the smallest class of locomotives used on this System. 

Then we have eight local freights on six-day per week jobs, eight switchers on 
straight 8-hour day, only one large engine which pays $2.60 per day, all other 
switcher jobs pay $2.50 per day and not a minute overtime. Then two local 
passenger jobs six days per week, which makes 106 miles per day at $2.50 rate. 
Nearly all the rest of the 54 firemen in service today are on the extra boards. 
where it is almost impossible to get over six days per week, but most of these 
extra men won't average over five days, and the only way they can get money 
enough to get by on is to work on truck and job teams, unloading coal and any 
other work they can get, to do while they are waiting to be called, and in a great 
many cases when they should be taking rest. Four firemen of seven or eight years' 
rights have left the service and taken other jobs where they can get money enough 
for a day's work to support their families. Two have enlisted as firemen in the 
Navy, and unless more money is paid on the small jobs nearly 30 percent 
of our old firemen will resign and accept other jobs before Spring. This is a 
true statement and I hope it will be of some assistance to our object. 

E. U. Sheldon, Local Chairman. 



C. & P. SOUTH DIVISION. 

I find on this division there are employed about 100 firemen and 49 
have quit the service since Jan. 1, 1917. There are about 30 firemen on 
this division working for a minimum day's wage. The following from 
Local Chairman's report shows wages of different classes of labor in 
Springfield, Mass. : 

Springfield, Mass., Nov. 13, 1917. 

Furnished by Central Labor Union Office. 

Common laborers — $3.25, 8 hours. 

Carpenters — $4.40, 8 hours, 60-65 per hour. 

Bricklayers— $5.60, 8 hours. 

Street sweepers— $2.75, 8 hours, $3.00 after Dec. 15th. 

Hod carriers — $3.75, 8 hours. 

Structural iron workers — 75c per hour. 

Cement workers and plasterers — 70c per hour. 

Hoisting engineers — $24.00, 44 hours, 75c per hour for broken time. 

Plumbers — 61 Viz per hour. 

Steamfitters — 57c per hour. 

Electricians — 57c per hour. 

Painters — 55c per hour. 

Sheet metal workers — 47c per hour. 



STATEMENTS OF EMPLOYES 285 

F. T. Ley Co., Loco. Firemen, $3.00, 8 hours. Frank McCarty, Lodge 485. 

Brown Hoist, engineer, $5.00, 8 hours. Time and a half while working for Fisk 
Rubber Co. Double time when working for Ley. 

Brown Hoist, fireman, $4.00, 8 hours when working for Ley. 

Engineer on steam shovel, 83J/-JC per hour. Overtime double pay. 

Fireman on steam shovel, 50c per hour. Overtime double pay. 

The guards at Fisk Rubber Co., $28 per week, 12 hours a day. 

George Snare, Supt. 

Coal handlers and drivers, $17 to $20. J. Harder. 

The City of Holyoke has just passed a law to pay the common laborers $3.00 
per day of 8 hours beginning Dec. 1st. A. E. James, Local Chairman. 

I have not analyzed the foregoing in the form of a brief, believing 
that you prefer to pick out what you desire to use, but I wish especially 
to call your attention to the fact that out of the 1475 to 1500 firemen 
employed on the Boston & Maine System, over 430 have quit the service 
.since January 1st, 1917, and more are leaving as they cannot longer 
remain on the small wages which they receive. 

Our Supt. Motive Power this morning stated to me that he needed 
firemen on nearly every division and asked me to find all the men I 
could, but believe me, I can be of no service to him, as it is clearly out 
of the question to undertake to convince any young man today that he 
can live on less than $25.00 per week, and as a majority of our firing 
jobs pay less than this amount, it is useless to even undertake to believe 
that the Railroad can operate much longer unless an immediate increase 
in pay is granted, and we are ready to submit our case to any tribunal 
made up of American citizens, except neutral arbitrators and editors 
who are paid large salaries for making headlines in the jingo press. 

Hoping you will be able to glean information from the foregoing that 
will be of value to the cause, I am, 

Sincerely and fraternally yours, 
ZJB/C Z. J. Blake. 



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